Love of a Cheetah: Prelude
by Ryan Slicer
Summary: Sorting out problems can be tough, but what if you could do so and learn more about the world around you? Ranma does so after the failed wedding and meets some interesting people.


Disclaimer: I do not own either Ranma ½ or Gold Digger, all rights are reserved to their respective owners, Rumiko Takahashi and Fred Perry.

WARNING: While there is no actual Lemon content contained herein, adult situations and acts of a sexual nature are strongly implied.

-X-X-X-

Love of a Cheetah - Prelude

-X-X-X-

Sunday...

Ranma-chan sat up with a groan, one small hand going to the back of her head to gingerly probe at a good-sized bump. Determining that the swelling was already going down, she took the time to check the rest of her body and clothes for injury or damage. Fortunately, aside from numerous bruises and scratches, she seemed relatively uninjured... The same, however, could not be said for the tuxedo that the Dimwitted Duo had dressed her in for 'his' surprise wedding. It was singed, burned, ripped, torn and cut, not to mention filthy with dirt and apparent stains from food, blood and grass. Apparently, Happosai's bomb had blown her completely out of the dojo.

Naturally, as seemed par for her life, it suddenly began raining heavily; adding further insult on what had already been a miserable day.

Sighing, she carefully rose to her feet, in case she'd sustained an injury that hadn't been readily apparent, and slowly made her way back into the dojo. Which, not surprisingly, was an utter shambles, with food and decorations strewn all over the place, and a sizeable hole in the floor where Happosai's bomb had gone off. She had little doubt as to who would be blamed and who would be held responsible for cleaning up the mess and repairing the floor.

She paused as she caught sight of the remains of the cask that had contained a supposed cure for her curse. While it was true that she'd, more or less, resigned herself to spending much of the rest of her life as a girl, thanks to her Jusenkyo curse, that didn't mean that she wouldn't continue to hope for an eventual cure. A frown appeared on her face when she remembered why the cask was there in the first place, as well as Mr. Tendo's use of it in an attempt to force her into marrying Akane.

Akane...

Ranma-chan realized that she was going to have totally re-evaluate her feelings towards the youngest Tendo, as she began wringing out as much water as she could from her clothing and hair as she made her way into the house proper. Before today, Ranma had believed that Akane was different from the other girls chasing her who were willing to use almost any means to trap her into marriage. However, Akane had proven that belief to be in error. Sure, Akane had been willing to marry her, but not because she loved her (attempting to get Ranma to admit that he'd already said he loved her, but unwilling to admit such feelings herself), or so that Ranma could be cured of the Jusenkyo curse (Akane hadn't even mentioned the cask of Nanniichuan being in the house until he'd indicated that he might not go through with the wedding, and even then Akane had revealed its existence in the form of a threat if he DIDN'T marry her). No, Akane had been willing to marry 'him' for one reason and one reason only... to win! To beat out all the other girls by becoming Ranma's 'wife', so she could flaunt her victory and supposed superiority in their faces, just as she'd done with the super soba noodles and the battle dogi.

"Oh, Ranma-kun," Kasumi's angelic voice exclaimed as she saw Ranma-chan coming into the house, "you're soaked to the bone. Didn't Father and Uncle Saotome bring you inside before they left, as I asked them to?"

"Guess not, Kasumi," Ranma-chan sighed, pulling out the string that held her pigtail in place. A quick shake of her head and running her fingers through it seemed to rid it of most of the remaining water. Alas, she was still cold, wet, and sore. A good long soak in a hot furo would do wonders for her mood right now.

Kasumi must have been having similar thoughts, as she handed the smaller girl a towel from out of nowhere. "I'll go make sure the furo is still hot enough for use, Ranma-kun. Why don't you go on upstairs and get your bathing things." And with that, Kasumi headed off to the bathing room leaving Ranma-chan to her thoughts once more.

----

"Ahhh..." Ranma groaned softly, as he eased himself down into the hot water of the furo, barely noting the full-body tingle of his return to being male after a cold-water washing of his girl-form. Leaning back against the side of the furo, he allowed himself to relax and let the hot water begin its work on easing his body's aches and pains.

As he soaked, Ranma's thoughts returned to the wedding attempt and the actions of those involved in its failure. Truthfully, he couldn't blame Ryouga or Mousse for trying to get the cask of Nanniichuan water once they'd seen it. Nor could he even really blame Happosai for drinking it, as who brings casks of water to a wedding? His father, on the other hand... Damn it! His worthless father KNEW how much he wanted a cure! He KNEW how the curse jeopardized their lives because of that damned seppuku pledge! He KNEW how it made him feel like less of a man! And yet, the worthless bastard hadn't even given his son a passing thought as he attempted to take the cask of Nanniichuan water for his own personal use and to hell with anyone else!

And Soun Tendo... A debt was now owed. Supposedly, the Jusenkyo Guide had sent the cask of Nanniichuan water in gratitude for Ranma's assistance in restoring Jusenkyo to working order. That water had been HIS, and instead of presenting it to Ranma for whom it was intended, Soun had instead held it for ransom. Akane wouldn't even be alive if not for what Ranma had been forced to do, and that sniveling, backstabbing, cowardly... He DARED deny him his cure? Oh yes, a debt was most definitely owed, and one day Ranma WOULD collect.

Shampoo and Ukyo, at the very least, were in for a serious talking to. Explosives! They'd actually been throwing explosives around, without any apparent regard for the safety of others in their attempt to derail the wedding. Kuno... was going to be visiting the hospital very soon. He'd gone too far this time, bringing bared steel to the wedding attempt, and thinking he had ANY right to interfere in Saotome-Tendo family affairs. Kodachi... He shuddered, and decided to just continue avoiding her as best he could.

The sound of the bathing room door sliding open and of someone entering the room, sliding the door closed again behind them, interrupted Ranma's thoughts. Opening his eyes, Ranma found himself looking into the amused brown eyes of a smirking Nabiki who, dressed her in usual short-shorts and an undersized t-shirt that clearly displayed her braless state, was avidly doing her best to see as much of him as possible through the distortions caused by the water in the furo.

"Since the wedding wasn't a success, I guess we're not brother and sister yet, so an incestuous relationship is out of the question, huh?" Nabiki stated, slowly strolling over to the side of the furo, her hips swaying more than usual.

"What do you want, Nabiki?" he asked, unconsciously covering himself and moving as far out of her reach as he could, as she knelt down beside the furo. Since the night of that party he'd been roped into escorting her to, and the 'incident' that followed, Nabiki had become far more... lewd... in her comments and dealings with him in private, not to mention more 'grabby'. Still, Ranma wasn't nearly as naive about sexual matters as he let on to others, so he knew exactly what Nabiki was attempting to do when she crossed her arms beneath her ample breasts and allowed her biceps to press them together causing them to strain against the thin material covering them. She pouted cutely when she didn't get a physical reaction to her display, silently damning martial artists' control of their bodily reactions.

"Oh, nothing," Nabiki finally responded, ceasing her display to lower one arm and trace her fingers through the water in the furo. "Kasumi told me you'd finally woken up and I just thought I'd come and make sure you were okay. Nothing important was damaged, was it?" she asked, again trying to peer through the obscuring water.

"I'm doing fine, if you consider that I was attacked with explosives, live steel, and Kami-sama alone knows what else," he growled, glaring at her, as a question occurred to him. "How did they find out about the wedding attempt, Nabiki? How did they know, when even I didn't know about it until I woke up in that monkey-suit?"

Nabiki froze at the unusual amount of sheer anger in Ranma's tone, but relaxed after only an instant, lifting her hand from the water to wave it negligently. "How should I know, Saotome? I didn't make the invitations."

"You know something, Nabiki, you always do," he growled accusingly, rising to his feet and, ignoring Nabiki's leering gaze, retrieved a towel to wrap about his waist.

"Alright, so what if I do? What're you going to do about it, huh? Spank me? Warm my bottom until I tell you all of my dirty little secrets?"

The idea was cruelly tempting, Ranma had to admit, but since she was the one to suggest it... "Five-thousand yen!" he said, sticking out his hand, palm up. And winced in sympathetic pain, that face-plant looked painful. View was nice though, what with her shapely behind sticking up in the air like that.

"Took you long enough," Nabiki grumbled, rubbing her nose as she picked herself back up off the floor. "Get dressed, Saotome. I'll have your money in my room." And with that, Nabiki sauntered her way back out of the bathing room.

Ranma blinked as he watched her leave, not having really expected that kind of response. After two years of having Nabiki hit him up for money at nearly every opportunity, the thought had never really occurred to him to do the same thing to her. But when she'd all but challenged him to pull her across his lap and warm her backside... she'd looked so eager for his response, that the urge to pull her favorite stunt 'on her' had been irresistible.

----

Ranma paused to gather himself a short time later as he stood in the hallway outside Nabiki's bedroom. In nearly every encounter he'd ever had with the middle Tendo daughter, Nabiki had blatantly dominated the discussion. She was far better with words than he'd ever been, a fact he readily admitted, but... this was one discussion that he fully intended to control. Things had gotten too out of control today and it was a miracle that no one had been seriously injured. And that wasn't even taking into consideration just how upset he was over the loss of yet another chance at a cure for his curse. With a steadying breath, he reached out and knocked on Nabiki's door, bracing himself for what was to come once he entered.

"Come in, Saotome," Nabiki's voice called from within the room.

Ranma took another quick breath, then sucked it up and entered the Dragoness' Lair. As he'd somewhat expected, Nabiki was once again posing. She was on all fours on her bed, doing kickbacks with her legs as if exercising, but with a great deal of unnecessary hip movement, arching of her back and swaying of her chest.

After a few moments without any comments from him, Nabiki coyly looked over her shoulder towards him with a smirk and huffed indignantly at once again failing to get a desired response out of the 'Wild Horse' as he continued to look stoically out her bedroom window. Grumpily she rose from her bed to walk over to her desk. Opening a hidden drawer built into the side of the desk, she withdrew a crisp 5000-yen note and turned to place it in his hand before leaning back against her desk, arms once again crossing beneath her bosom. "Alright, Saotome, you've gotten your money. Now... what are you going to do to me, if I don't talk?" she challenged. "Declare your everlasting love?"

Ranma winced internally at being reminded of that disaster. Even he could now see how childish his so-called plan of revenge had been to get back at Nabiki when they'd been engaged for that short time. Giving himself a mental shake, he forced himself to focus on the task at hand. Carefully, deliberately, and slowly, he folded the yen note neatly and slipped it into his pants pocket before returning his gaze to Nabiki's.

"No, I don't think so," he said casually, far too casually in Nabiki's silent opinion. "I'm a little too upset for that. No spankings, either, as I think you might enjoy it... Maybe later, though."

Nabiki did not like how this conversation was going. Didn't like it at all. So far, all of the tactics she normally used to keep Ranma off-balance had failed... utterly. A nervous Ranma, she could handle. An enraged Ranma, she could deal with. A calm, controlled AND angry Ranma... was an unknown. Had she finally crossed the line? Had everyone pushed him over the edge? Looking into his scowling face, with those hard, cold blue eyes, she shivered and suddenly wished to be anywhere else but in front of him. For the first time, Nabiki truly considered just what Ranma could be capable of doing if pushed too far. And it frightened her. "Y-you're not going t-t-to hurt me, are you? My f-f-family?" Nabiki stuttered out, silently berating herself for showing just how rattled he had her.

"Nabiki," Ranma began softly, advancing on her and forcing her to lean back over the top of her desk, "since I returned to the Dojo this morning, I've been knocked unconscious, dressed up in a monkey-suit and told I was getting married whether I was willing or not. Then, Akane tries to get me to openly admit my feelings for her, while not even considering doing the same herself, as usual. Then, when it looked like I wasn't going to go through with the wedding, which I wasn't, I was told that if I DIDN'T marry her, TODAY, that your father wouldn't give me the cure for my curse, WHICH was sent to ME in gratitude for my help in restoring Jusenkyo."

Nabiki squeaked in fright as Ranma's right hand slammed into the wall behind her as Ranma continued to snarl at her, his face only inches away from her own. "THEN, when I get downstairs, intending to 'discuss' your father's dishonorable behavior with him, I get BLOWN UP by my other two fiancées that had come to RESCUE me from my forced marriage to your sister. I have to dodge BARED STEEL in the hands of Kuno, who had come to KILL the foul sorcerer Saotome and who intended to marry Akane and/or his 'Pigtailed Goddess' himself, after I got splashed. Kodachi showed up to marry me in a WEDDING DRESS, intending to marry me herself instead of letting Akane have that pleasure."

"Meanwhile," Ranma continued, spinning away from Nabiki's shivering form to begin pacing her bedroom like a caged animal, "Shampoo and Ukyo are trying to KILL Akane with their exploding food, and nearly hitting Mom and Kasumi in the process. Pops is running off with the Nanniichuan intending to use it all himself and he could care less about his own son. Mousse and Ryouga are chasing Pop to get the water for themselves. And the Old Letch ends up DRINKING IT ALL, thinking it was the wedding sake, THEN NEARLY BLOWS UP THE ENTIRE DOJO AND EVERYONE IN IT!"

"DAMN IT, NABIKI!" Ranma cursed in frustration, his hands clenching into fists. "I could have solved this on my own. Could have said 'no', when the priest asked if I wanted to marry Akane. Could have checked out the Nanniichuan and made sure it was legit before trying to use it, on ALL of us cursed guys if there was enough! But I wasn't even given the chance, because of all the chaos that everyone was causing! Now tell me, Tendo-san, HOW... DID... THEY... KNOW!"

"Ranma, I..." Nabiki's voice wavered as she tried to think of an answer that wouldn't result in her immediate beating, if not outright death, and that wouldn't have her home or family placed in any further jeopardy. "Daddy gave the guest list to your mother and Kasumi, to write the invitations, and... they added the others, thinking Daddy and your father had forgotten them for some reason. I... I just delivered them, as it would mean more wedding gifts and such. I NEVER thought that they'd all go as far as they did, or cause so much damage, or I wouldn't have! I'll be lucky to break even with everything that needs repaired. I... I'll admit that I grossly miscalculated how everyone would react!"

"The understatement of the century, Tendo-san," Ranma grunted. "And because of your greed, the dojo was seriously damaged; your sister was almost killed, and cost me yet another possible chance at a cure."

"Hey! Don't blame me for the loss of the Nanniichuan!" Nabiki quickly spoke up. "I didn't even know about it until I stumbled across Daddy trying to move it to a new hiding place, just before your father grabbed it, started running, and everything began exploding and going to hell in a hand-basket. I may take your money, Saotome, but I wouldn't knowingly do anything to jeopardize your chance at a cure!"

"Yeah, right," Ranma scoffed, then attempted to stuff his entire leg into his mouth until he could nibble on his own butt. "You'd have hidden it yourself and probably blackmailed me into doing full-nudie pictures or worse, pornographic movies."

"Oh sure, I could do something like that. The demand is definitely there. But at what cost?" Nabiki fired back, beginning to recover her wits and courage now that he wasn't hovering over her. "Despite what you may think of me, Saotome, I do have limits, things I WON'T do no matter how large the profit."

"Hasn't seemed to stop you so far," Ranma commented coldly. "You're probably one of the richest girls in Nerima with all the yen you've made off of me."

Nabiki actually laughed bitterly at that comment. "Just how much money do you think your fellow students have, Ranma?" she asked.

Ranma just stood there and looked at her, since he didn't have a clue as to an answer. "Well... I..."

"Of course, you have no idea," she sighed before pulling out her desk chair and sitting down, indicating for him to sit down on her bed.

Ranma, not wanting to upset her any more than his meager wallet could handle, plopped himself down on the bed at her suggestion. "Money was all but nonexistent when you're movin' from place to place all the time. And usually brought more trouble than it was worth," he said, remembering some of his father's more violent drunken episodes whenever he'd gotten enough money to visit local taverns. It wasn't that his father was a violent drunk; it was just that with large amounts of alcohol in him Genma couldn't judge the force of his punches and kicks accurately, so it had made many of their sparring matches more painful than they'd had to be. "I just wish you'd've asked me first about invitin' them," he added, almost petulantly. She knew whom he was talking about.

Nabiki sighed. "I wasn't included in the planning of the wedding, Saotome. Neither Kasumi nor I knew anything about it until this morning," she explained. "And even if I'd wanted to ask, you weren't available having run off somewhere. And, as I said, I underestimated how badly the others would react, or I wouldn't have delivered those invitations to them."

Ranma did his best to keep his expression the same. The last thing he wanted was for anyone to suspect what he was planning, or they'd begin making plans of their own.

"In any case, as for my being 'rich', high school students normally have little more than lunch money from their parents on them when they come to school, sometimes more if their parents can afford it or said student has a part-time job somewhere," Nabiki explained, picking up a pen from her desk and dexterously began twirling it through her fingers and back again as she talked. "In a good week, I can scrape in as much as if I had a part-time job somewhere as a clerk which, for your information, is a low-paying occupation. My family isn't rich, Saotome, but we're not poor either. We do have investments Mother made before she... died, and that I keep an eye on. We weren't living in the lap of luxury, like the Kunos, before you and your father came to live with us, but we were comfortable and the extra money I was able to bring in allowed us to splurge occasionally on various things. Since your arrival, however, and everything that's followed... I'm not saying it's your fault, Saotome, because for the most part, it isn't, but you certainly don't help matters with your overly macho and prideful posturing, not to mention your utter lack of control over that mouth of yours. It's gotten harder and harder to convince the insurance company to cover the costs of repairing all of the damages around here. We've used gas leaks and broken water pipes so many times that they're wanting to send an investigator to conduct a thorough inspection of the property."

Ranma watched silently as the middle Tendo sister picked up another pen and began moving both pens between the fingers of her hands faster and faster, surprising him with her dexterity, as she went on to explain how they were holding up in their investments, having to sell more stocks than they bought and making certain that the new stocks they DID purchase would be more profitable than the old. Of how while those same new stocks had an increased potential for profit, they also had an equally increased potential for loss.

'Nabiki isn't breaking down, but she's worried and... frightened. Frightened of making a bad decision and losing her home,' he thought. Cautiously, Ranma reached out to try and comfort the girl as Kasumi occasionally did for him when he felt stressed out from all the fights, chaos, and frustrations of his life. As his hand touched her shoulder, he felt Nabiki stiffen momentarily, the pens falling from her hands, before she suddenly lunged at him, wrapping her arms around him and ending up sitting in his lap. Naturally, the sudden embrace caused him to lock up, fearful of the pain that often followed such close contact with anything female, but after a few moments without anyone suddenly bursting into the room, he began to relax and pay attention to Nabiki's whispered apologies for all of the problems she'd forced on him.

Nabiki tried to stop herself from losing control over her emotions, but she couldn't stop, she'd never known just how much the stress of keeping everything together and running had been affecting her. When she'd first thought Ranma was going to snap, she'd believed that he was not only capable of hurting her family and herself, but more than willing to do so after everything they'd put him through. Her admittedly naive romantic view of what Ranma had endured on that long training trip with his worthless father was crumbling under the weight of a more realistic examination. Based on what she'd learned of Genma Saotome's behavior, opinions, and intellect, it was highly probable that the so-called 'training trip' had been little more than one long drinking and eating binge as Genma moved from one town to the next, always one step ahead of those he'd offended in some manner, interspersed with moments of semi-sobriety during which Genma had forced Ranma to undergo methods of 'training' in the Art that would have been called 'torture techniques' or outright attempts at 'murder' by anyone else. And yet, Ranma had survived it all and emerged as a remarkable young man, with some notable problems to be sure, but highly skilled in surviving impossible odds and with a good heart. But NOT without limitations. She buried her face in the crook of his neck and continued to whisper, "Ranma, please don't hurt my family for what they've done to you. Please."

The pigtailed boy just held the middle Tendo sister until she vented all of her fear and anxiety, soothingly stroking her back. It was going to be a long night of deep thought for him no matter what else may be said, but his thoughts of taking Mr. Tendo to task for his recent actions had been tempered with how they might affect Nabiki.

As Nabiki finally wound down and began bringing her emotions back under control, she reluctantly released him to get to her feet and retrieve some tissue from her desk to remove the evidence of her having cried, before looking back at him without her customary smirk or cold eyes. "You know, Saotome," she sniffled, her control of her emotions still not fully recovered, "this never happened. I have a reputation to uphold, after all."

"So I've heard," he responded, rising from her bed.

Nabiki took another moment to straighten herself out, before pulling Ranma into a comforting hug, much like Kasumi would occasionally do for him, as he made to move towards the door. "I really am sorry, Ranma," she whispered, hugging him tighter for a moment before releasing him. "About everything."

Ranma nodded, hesitantly returning her hug. "I believe you, Nabiki. But I'm still angry over what happened today," he admonished as they pulled apart.

Nabiki nodded in understanding, walking with him to her bedroom door. "With good reason, Ranma," she sighed and smiled softly, with a hint of her usual mischievous nature returning. "We can talk more about it tomorrow, but for now, I really need to get some sleep and that means changing into my pajamas, so you'll have to go." Then, giving Ranma a smile he hadn't seen since her graduation party, she added, "Unless you want to help me change clothes and tuck me in for the night..."

Ranma stiffened and twitched slightly, before quickly shaking his head and escaping from her room towards his own. Nabiki stood in her doorway, admiring his firm backside for a moment, before softly closing her door and leaning back against it. "I've still got it," she softly whispered, grinning to herself.

-X-X-X-

Monday...

Soun Tendo sat on the veranda overlooking the koi pond, allowing Kasumi's fine breakfast to digest properly. A game of Go or Shogi would be excellent right now, but Genma had apparently decided to make himself scarce after the wedding fiasco and Soun couldn't really fault him for that. Soun, himself, hadn't been too pleased with the way things had gone, nor with his 'old friend's' part in disrupting it.

"Tendo-san? Could I have a moment of your time?"

Soun turned slightly, seeing the boy he'd hoped would be his 'legal' son and heir by now stepping out of the house to join him on the veranda.

"Of course, Son. Please, join me," he responded, indicating for Ranma to sit beside him before once again looking out over the garden. "It's a beautiful day this morning, isn't it, Son?"

"Actually, Tendo-san," Ranma stated, an unusually hard edge to his voice and choosing to remain standing, "I'm not your 'son', yet."

"Ah, but you will be, once you do the 'honorable' thing and marry my sweet little Akane," Soun stated, getting to his feet. Something about the boy this morning was making him nervous and his long dormant 'fight-or-flight' instincts were acting up. It didn't take a genius to understand that the boy may have been a little upset about the previous day's incident, so Soun attempted to move their conversation away from such topics. "But enough about weddings, for now. We can try again, at a later date, once you've resolved your relationships with those other girls. Now, what was it that you wanted to talk about, Son?"

Ranma was trying to keep his frustrations in check and not attack the Tendo patriarch outright for daring to remind HIM of what was 'honorable' and once again foisting the problem of the fiancées off on him to solve, instead of the one who'd created those very problems in the first place... Genma Saotome. Reining in his rapidly dwindling control of his temper, Ranma gave the older man a hard glare as he spoke, "Tendo-san, I understand that the cask of Nanniichuan that was LOST yesterday had been sent here by the Jusenkyo Guide as a gift TO ME for helping to restore the cursed springs?"

Soun nodded slowly, his mind scrambling for an answer that would seem logical and curtail thoughts of reprisal, "Yes, there was a cask that came here. It was addressed in the 'care of the Tendo Dojo' and assumed to be used as I, as the Master of the Dojo, saw fit." He turned to look at the Saotome heir, a smile on his face, before continuing, "So, I thought it would make a fine addition to the dowry of this Dojo when you married my little girl."

Ranma glared at the older, supposedly wiser, man as the tenuous grasp he held on his anger began to slip and his battle aura became visible, causing Soun to pale and step back as he prepared to make a run for it.

"You ASSUMED that with TWO Jusenkyo curse victims residing in your house," Ranma growled, his hands clenched into fists at his sides, "that the cask was sent to YOU! You ASSUMED that you could do with it as YOU saw fit, even after the Guide called you and told you SPECIFICALLY who it was intended for and WHY!" Ranma's battle aura continued to grow as his anger mounted and his voice rose. "You had the GALL to use it to BLACKMAIL your own daughter into agreeing to marry me and THEN intended to hold it for RANSOM in order to gain MY cooperation in marrying your daughter!"

"Now, Son," Soun nervously began, "I just wanted to ensure that you would finally marry my little gir--"

"SILENCE!" Ranma roared, unconsciously strengthening his voice with his chi and nearly causing the windows of the house to shatter. "You had NO right to withhold what was clearly MY property! Nor did you have the right to try to use it as you did, which resulted in its LOSS! YOU OWE ME, TENDO! For the DISHONOR and DISRESPECT that you have shown me, a GUEST in your home, you OWE me!"

Soun, sensing his absolute authority in his own home being threatened by Ranma, resorted to his 'Demon-Head Attack' in an attempt to intimidate the younger male into submission to his will. Right or wrong was irrelevant. The Dojo was HIS home and HE was its only master. That was the way it had always been and that was the way it would always remain, even after Ranma finally gave in and married Akane. Unfortunately for Soun, and unlike all the previous times he'd used the technique to intimidate the boy into backing down, Ranma merely sneered at the ki-attack and with a wave of his left arm backhanded Soun's demon-head with his own battle aura, which disrupted Soun's attack and caused a backlash of energy that forced Soun to his knees.

"N-now, Son," Soun stuttered in shock at the failure of his technique and more than a little fear of what Ranma would do next, "I-I was only doing what I felt b-best for y-you and Akane."

"YOU WERE DOING IT FOR YOUR OWN SELFISH REASONS AND NOTHING ELSE!" Ranma roared, before his voice lowered to a throaty growl. "You owe me, Tendo! And one day I WILL collect! Pray that you do nothing else to increase that debt, or force me into collecting upon it in the near future! And don't you EVER think that YOU know what is in MY best interest ever again, as you have CLEARLY shown that you care only for YOUR OWN selfish desires and nothing else!" With that said, Ranma struggled to regain control of his anger before the now trembling Tendo patriarch, immersing himself in the 'Soul of Ice' technique and causing the moisture in the air to condense around him, activating his curse, before forming a layer of frost upon the now slightly charred flooring of the veranda.

Throwing a last withering glare at the cowering creature before her, Ranma-chan turned and walked back into the house. She paused upon seeing Kasumi and Nabiki just inside the entrance, having obviously heard most if not all of what had just taken place, before releasing a weary sigh and continuing on further into the house. She needed to regain her center and, as the dojo had yet to be cleaned, that meant meditating in her room. Fortunately, her father was presently displaying what little intelligence he possessed and was staying out of her sight, so she should have ample privacy for at least a little while.

----

The two eldest Tendo daughters silently watched the redhead walk out of sight, different thoughts flowing through their minds at this most recent event.

Nabiki shivered slightly as the cooled air of Ranma-chan's passing wafted about her. She'd known that Ranma had been upset about the wedding attempt and the loss of the Nanniichuan, but she hadn't expected the Saotome heir to actually develop enough backbone as to actually confront her father, in the manner he had, on what he'd done, let alone claim that an 'Honor Debt' was now owed to him. That Ranma had had to resort to the 'Soul of Ice' technique in order to control himself spoke clearly of how close things had come to turning violent.

Kasumi, for her part, watched Ranma-chan walk away with a sorrowful expression. It was only due to her belief in being a dutiful and obedient daughter that she hadn't confronted her father, herself, over his recent actions. Especially in regards to the loss of what may have been Ranma's last chance at a cure for his curse.

More often than not, Kasumi had been the one to comfort the distraught young man when some new aspect of his curse surprised him, to explain how the female body functioned, and to soothe his frayed nerves after he'd suffered all-too-frequent nightmares of 'herself' becoming intimate with various boys. And that wasn't even considering the other types of nightmares Ranma suffered from, thanks to all that his father had put him through. Kasumi didn't believe for an instant that it was 'for the sake of the Art' or to make Ranma 'more of a man', as Mr. Saotome was so fond of saying about his 'training' efforts. Kasumi recognized blatant laziness and idiocy when she saw it. The vast majority of Genma's training methods were nothing more than extremely dangerous 'shortcuts' that placed Ranma in life-threatening situations, just so Genma wouldn't have to exert himself more than was absolutely necessary.

Kasumi had heard most of the discussion between Ranma and her father, and she found herself in total agreement with Ranma. What her father had attempted to do was both dishonorable and disrespectful of a guest in their home. While it was true that the cask of Nanniichuan water had been sent in 'care of the Tendo Dojo', Kasumi had found the receipt from the delivery service in the trash and it had clearly stated that Ranma Saotome was to be the recipient... NOT the Dojo and NOT her father!

Looking towards her now weeping father, as he blubbered on about the schools never being joined, Kasumi felt an uncharacteristic need to punish the overgrown child that passed itself off as an adult. And for once, made no move to go comfort the crybaby, instead turning about and moving back towards her kitchen.

"Nabiki, perhaps you could check up on Ranma-kun and make certain he is alright," Kasumi said over her shoulder, recalling the argument between the two that she'd overheard the night before and that the two had parted on reasonably good terms. She was just thankful that she'd sent Akane on a short run to the grocery store right after breakfast, or things could have gone considerably worse this morning.

----

Ranma-chan sat, lotus-fashion, on her futon, still employing the 'Soul of Ice' technique and trying to bring her anger back in check through meditation. As the more spiritual aspects of the Art had been something Genma actively discouraged whenever possible, as they tended to promote thought and reason, Ranma-chan was only having minor success in calming herself down from her encounter with Soun 'Waterworks' Tendo. Even so, she had been successful enough in submerging her consciousness as to be unaware of the entrance of another person into the room, until she felt a hand placed upon her shoulder... and a loud, colorful, series of expletives escaping the lips of the possessor of said hand as it was quickly removed from her person. Smirking humorously at Nabiki's colorful language, Ranma-chan ceased using the 'Soul of Ice' technique and turned about to see the still softly cursing Nabiki attempting to rub some feeling back into her now numb hand.

"Damn it, Saotome, I knew you could be a cold bastard upon occasion, but do you have to take my title of 'Ice Queen' as well?" Nabiki demanded, moving her fingers slowly and grimacing at the 'pins-and-needles' sensation that encompassed her entire hand.

Ranma-chan shook her head with a grin before taking the older girl's hand into her own smaller ones. Gently massaging Nabiki's hand, Ranma-chan began to slowly infuse some of her own chi into the cool flesh to warm it and ensure that no actual damage had occurred. "I couldn't pull it off as well as you, even if I can generate a cold aura," she responded. "How does your hand feel now?"

Nabiki, almost reluctantly, withdrew her hand from the warm embrace of Ranma-chan's hands, clenching it into a fist a few times and assuring herself that it felt back to normal. "It's better now," she said, gazing at the petite redhead and contemplating the best way to bring up the recent confrontation on the veranda. Seeing Ranma-chan's expression sadden as she released a soft sigh, Nabiki pressed ahead before she completely lost her nerve, "Ranma... about the 'debt' my father now owes you..."

Ranma-chan's eyes hardened in an instant, causing Nabiki to cease talking. "That is nothing you need to worry about, Nabiki. It is strictly between me and your father," she growled lowly. "It was NOT the Tendo 'family' that withheld MY property and subsequently lost it. It was Soun Tendo, acting alone and in his own self-interest, that was responsible. Therefore, it is Soun Tendo and Soun Tendo alone, that I am holding in my debt. I just hope he has more honor left in him than my own worthless father."

"All right, I just meant that if he doesn't follow through with what he owes you, then I'll see what I can do to make sure he does honor that debt," Nabiki said.

"Don't worry about it, Nabiki," Ranma-chan said, her expression softening. "If he fails to honor his debts, then he merely proves that HE is without honor, not the Tendo family as a whole." Feeling calmer now, Ranma-chan rose to her feet and reached out to help Nabiki up. Not entirely calmed, however, she used a bit more strength than necessary in assisting Nabiki to her feet and Nabiki stumbled forward slightly, so that they ended up bosom to bosom just as the door to the room slammed open.

"Ranma! Hurry up or we'll... be..." Akane stood there in the doorway, her eyes widening almost comically as she took in the scene before her. There were her sister and her unwanted fiancé, presently in girl form, standing so close together that their breasts were flattened against the other, their lips scant inches apart, and clasping each other's hands. It looked so intimate... so erotic... so... "Pervert!" Akane spat giving them both a hard glare, before turning about and stomping away. A few moments later they could hear, and feel, the front door slamming shut.

"Was she calling 'me' a pervert, like always, or you?" Ranma-chan asked, still looking towards the open doorway. "Or both of us?"

Nabiki wasn't entirely certain, herself. Still, she wasn't about to pass up this opportunity she'd been given and wiggled her upper body slightly, while leaning more forcefully against the smaller girl, distracting her long enough for Nabiki to free her hands from Ranma-chan's and grab hold of her shapely bottom to give it a good hard squeeze.

"Eep!" Ranma-chan squeaked, her eyes widening at the surprise assault upon her person, before her expression turned scolding. "Nabiki," she growled, reaching back and firmly pried Nabiki's hands from her bottom. "Never mind who Akane meant, I KNOW who the real pervert in this room is!"

"Aw, you're no fun!" Nabiki mock pouted, but nonetheless backed off.

'You thought differently the night of the party,' Ranma-chan thought. "Whatever," she said, ushering the older girl towards the door. "Now, if you don't mind, I need to get ready for school."

"I'm willing to help you dress," Nabiki fired back playfully. "No charge even!"

"Out!"

----

Later that evening, after a surprisingly uneventful day at school as the wedding crashers had seemed to be making an effort to avoid being seen, Ranma lay on the roof of the Tendo-ke looking up at the stars, once again contemplating the path his life was presently following. He may have been a little naive about some things and woefully ignorant about a great many more, but even he could see that his life was a train wreck in progress, careening down the rails at breakneck speeds and the bridge spanning the bottomless abyss ahead was being held together with chewing gum, thumbtacks, and a few half-hearted prayers. Only those completely blind to what was going on around them would be so foolish as to even contemplate the hope that the bridge would remain intact once contact was made.

He needed to get away, away from Nerima and away from his problems so that he could actually THINK of how to solve those very problems. He couldn't do that while staying at the Tendo-ke and, really, he didn't want to now, thoughts of Soun and Akane's recent betrayals pressing heavily upon his mind. As long as he remained here, though, the parents would continue to try to influence his every thought and action. He couldn't go to the Nekohanten or Ucchan's for the same reasons, although with those two he also ran the risk of being 'wedded and bedded' come the following morning, although which would actually come first depended on the location. And his mother's place...

Ranma sighed, heavily. He'd been making plans for a 'training trip', alone, for months now, but... he had yet to think of a means of ensuring that none of the others followed him. It had taken Ukyo nearly a decade and was most likely more due to chance than actual skill, but she had been able to track him down. And Shampoo had tracked him all the way from the backwoods of China, with both he and his father doing everything they could to lose her. And his father, if it was really something he wanted, could be quite good at tracking himself. No, getting out of Nerima and away from everyone was going to be a major problem. However he managed to do it though, it would have to be without any warning and leaving as little as possible behind to indicate where he might have gone.

Sensing that the hour was late, and feeling more than a little exhausted, Ranma got to his feet with the intention of heading for his futon when... Had that been a moan? Of pain? The moan repeated as Ranma stood silently listening, drawing his gaze down to the roof upon which he stood. As he was presently over Nabiki's bedroom, he rightly assumed that the sound was coming from her. However, what was causing it? She'd appeared healthy enough earlier that evening and Akane hadn't been trying to cook anything lately. Had she injured herself somehow and been unable to call for help? Yet another, slightly louder, moan was heard and something began pricking at the back of his mind... Why did that moan sound so familiar?

Quickly moving over to the edge of roof, Ranma deftly lowered himself down to peer into Nabiki's open bedroom window and... froze. There was just enough moonlight getting into the room for Ranma to see Nabiki lying on her bed with the covers thrown back. Lying on her side, facing towards the window, Ranma had no difficulty seeing how Nabiki's hands were thrust into her pajama bottoms and that those selfsame hands were being anything but idle. NOW he remembered where he had heard those moans before... the night of the party.

Moving a bit more awkwardly now, after what he'd just witnessed and with the memories of what had occurred the night of the party playing through his mind, Ranma climbed back onto the roof and tried to regain his composure. Sleep was still something he wanted to acquire, but a rather more urgent need had presented itself and would have to be taken care of first... or sleep would be a long time in coming. That decided, Ranma quietly made his way across the roof towards the dojo... a moan of his own escaping from his lips.

-X-X-X-

Tuesday...

Nabiki gave out a groan as she rolled over and slammed her hand down atop her alarm clock, shutting off the annoying buzzer. Mornings just were NOT her cup of tea... or STRONG black coffee, as was her personal preference. Sitting up and swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she stretched out a few kinks in her back and neck that had developed over the course of the night. Then she grimaced as she became aware of another problem that would have to be addressed in the immediate future, preferably alone and undisturbed in the bathing room where clean up wouldn't be a problem.

She'd had THAT dream again and, while the actual details varied somewhat, it was always the same dream and it always left her to wake up more than a little aroused... and in need of a good scrubbing, followed by a relaxing soak in the furo. Nabiki wasn't a stranger to 'erotic' dreams, but what troubled her about this particular dream was that she couldn't tell if it was simply a product of her own overactive imagination... or the memory of an actual event that she couldn't recall consciously. Shaking her head and brushing the question aside for now, she stood and examined her appearance in the full-length mirror on her bedroom door. She frowned in disgust at the usual case of severe 'bed-hair' she was cursed with, but sighed in relief that she wouldn't be forced to change her clothing before making her way to the furo, as she'd had to do the last few times she'd had that particular dream.

As she stumbled downstairs on her way to the furo, Nabiki's thoughts returned to her recurring dream, of how she'd practically thrown herself at Ranma in such a wanton fashion, in various locations, that it probably would have made that sex-kitten Shampoo blush in embarrassment. And yet, unlike how she knew Ranma would respond if she ever tried something like that in real life, the Ranma of her dream had responded to her wanton advances, albeit reluctantly and never to the extent she was obviously wanting, to sate her desires... at least temporarily. Nabiki shook her head, trying to banish the image that appeared in her mind of one particular scene from her most recent dream, as she just couldn't imagine herself as doing something like that, oral fixation or not, and the size of dream-Ranma's 'endowment' HAD to be the product of her overactive imagination.

----

Ranma, sitting at the living room table, silently watched the middle Tendo daughter stumble her way past on her way to furo, her expression continually shifting from puzzled to hungry to a pleasant daze. He'd seen those expressions on her face before, particularly the last two. He remembered exactly what Nabiki had looked like when the need was upon her, and of how she'd looked once he'd appeased her hunger for a time. His cheeks held a slight tinge of red as he remembered the night she'd roped him into being her escort to that party held at the home of one of her classmates...

Flashback

Ranma frowned as he looked down at the contents of his cup, some kind of fruit punch that had been spiked with liquor of some sort. It was expected of this kind of party, and Ranma had made an effort not to drink too much of the mix, but the warm and tingly feeling he had in his extremities, plus a slight light-headedness, was telling him that he hadn't been entirely successful in remaining completely sober. Still, he didn't think it would impair his ability to fight if he had to, which was always a possibility in his chaotic life.

Yet another girl approached him, as they had for most of the evening, asking him to dance with them, before frowning and walking away at his polite refusal. It wasn't that he didn't know how to dance, as several of the martial arts styles he'd studied had been based on it, but... Ranma was just very uncomfortable around large groups of people and the area that had been set aside for dancing was packed almost shoulder-to-shoulder. Too, there was the fact that he simply didn't want to be there in the first place. It was Nabiki's party, not his, but she had asked him to be her escort to and from the party, offering to write off a portion of his debt in return, and her father had made it clear once he'd heard about it that refusal was not an option. So, he'd cleaned himself up, donned the clothing Nabiki had picked out for him, which consisted of his best black-silk pants and a brand new white-silk sleeveless Chinese tang with an embroidered blue dragon across the left shoulder, and escorted her to her party.

And had been bored stiff ever since.

Still, he had a task to perform and looked over to where he'd last seen Nabiki talking with some other girls. Not seeing her, he began scanning the rest of the crowded room, growing more concerned as he wasn't able to locate her quickly. Considering that she'd been dressed a bit more brazenly than most of the other girls at the party in a rather skimpy form-fitting black sequined tube-dress, with a black silk choker and high-heels, she should have been easily spotted. He was just considering the possibility of checking to see if she'd slipped into one of the bathrooms for a moment when he was nearly bowled over by said individual plastering herself to his back and nearly causing him to spill his drink on himself.

"Found you, you big stud you," Nabiki purred breathily into his ear, her voice slurred as if she were very drunk. Which didn't make any sense to him, as she'd appeared stone cold sober not more than twenty minutes earlier, despite sipping on what appeared to be a glass of wine or something. When her hands began roaming down his front, he quickly turned about to face her and she ended up grabbing hold of his butt, giving it a good firm squeeze and earning quite a few jealous glares from some of the other female guests.

"Nabiki?" Ranma asked, both in surprise and embarrassment, as he set his drink down in order to better hold her upright. Nabiki just grinned sloppily up at him as she wrapped her arms about his neck and leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. "I didn't think you were the type to get drunk like this."

Nabiki growled softly and tried to steady herself, but only succeeded in rubbing herself lewdly against him. "Not... Not dru- drunk!" she slurred, then moaned. "Mmm... You're so nice, Ranma-kun, so handsome..." She shook her head then, obviously trying to clear it of whatever was affecting her behavior. "Drugged... Something... slipped into my drink..." She began grinding her crotch against him and moaned. "Oh, Kami... Get me out of here, Ranma, be- before... I do something we'll both regret... Please."

Ranma looked into her slightly unfocused eyes and nodded, turning her about to lean against him, his arm about her waist, before leading her towards the exit. They'd only taken a few steps when Ranma spotted the three toughs heading towards them. Just at a glance, Ranma knew that the three were NOT high school students and had most likely crashed the party. The fact that Nabiki seemed to cling even tighter to his side was also a good indication that these three had had something to do with her present condition.

"Hey, kid, looks like your girlfriend's had a little too much to drink. What say we take her off your hands and take her somewhere to lie down, while you go back to partying, eh?" the largest of the three spoke up as he blocked Ranma's path, with the other two taking up flanking positions. Keeping himself visibly relaxed and moving Nabiki behind him, where she began kissing and nibbling on his neck, Ranma glared sternly into the eyes of the man before him while allowing his battle aura to just enter the visible spectrum, making it blatantly clear that it wouldn't be wise to push the matter. "Then again..." the guy nervously said, taking a step back, "you seem to have the situation well in hand."

"You'd best hope that her 'situation' isn't serious," Ranma stated, his tone threatening and full of conviction, "or that I find out that you three had anything to do with it... Or I WILL take it 'in hand'... violently."

"Whoa, you mean someone was dumb enough to screw with Nabiki? While Ranma was around?" someone in the nearby crowd asked.

"Their funeral!" another responded. "But I can think of a lot less painful ways of committing suicide."

"She certainly isn't acting like she normally does," yet another voice spoke, as Nabiki was now blatantly rubbing herself against Ranma's back.

That was the cue for the three toughs to make a hasty exit from the party and Ranma allowed his battle aura to dissipate as the partygoers resumed partying now that the threat of imminent violence had passed. Resuming their own departure from the party, Ranma was once again taken by surprise when Nabiki suddenly dragged him into a bathroom near the front door of the house and well away from the main body of the party.

Figuring that Nabiki had felt a sudden need for privacy Ranma shut the bathroom door and locked it, before turning around to ask Nabiki how she was feeling. Whereupon he found himself pushed back against the door by a very amorous Nabiki, who proceeded to attempt the non-surgical removal of his tonsils with her tongue while grinding her crotch against his right thigh and her hands held his head in place, preventing him from twisting it away from her own.

The bathroom wasn't any larger really than a small closet and barely accommodated the two of them while standing up, so there was no room to maneuver himself away from the overly amorous Tendo. And every time his own hands would move to try to push her back from himself, he would find them coming into contact with inappropriate portions of her anatomy, through either accident or judicious wriggling on Nabiki's part.

"Nabiki?" Ranma gasped, when she finally relented her assault on his tonsils to begin nipping and kissing along his jaw and down his throat, her hands seeming to multiply in number as he began feeling them all over his body, exploring and fondling him.

"Y'know, Ranma-kun," Nabiki purred huskily into his ear between kisses and nips on his earlobe, making him shiver in both fear and pleasure at the same time, "if you had acted more like a REAL man, instead of an overly-macho, overly-prideful, and extremely ignorant little boy... I might never have given you back to my spoiled brat of sister." More kisses showered down upon him and another attempt to remove his tonsils was made. Ranma's entire body tensed when one of Nabiki's seemingly numerous hands suddenly made its way inside his pants to grab hold of an extremely sensitive and expanding portion of his anatomy. "Mmmm... and I would have had even more misgivings if I'd known about this... 'Wild Horse', indeed."

Ranma's eyes began to dart wildly about the small room, searching for an escape, a distraction, ANYTHING that could help him out of his present situation. He knew that Nabiki had not intended to lose control of herself tonight, especially not in this manner, through either alcohol or illicit drugs. Yet the fact remained that she wasn't in control of her actions and had already progressed in her apparent attempts to ravish him far in excess of anything Shampoo had ever accomplished as evidenced by the nearly fully erect organ she was even now continuing to enthusiastically stroke and fondle. Normally, even under such trying circumstances as he was presently being subjected to, Ranma possessed more than sufficient control of his bodily functions to prevent himself from displaying such blatant evidence of his own arousal. Unfortunately, he belatedly realized that the quantity of spiked fruit punch he'd consumed that evening, while not enough to actually make him drunk, had definitely been more than sufficient to strip him of his ability to control certain portions of his anatomy.

"Mmph... Nabiki... we can't..." he started, wrenching his lips away from hers, about to once again try to talk his way out of the situation, when he was distracted with the realization that, at some point, the hem of Nabiki's dress had slid upwards and his hands were presently kneading and fondling her surprisingly firm, shapely bottom, with only the black silk of her scanty panties preventing full skin-to-skin contact.

"I know I haven't made your stay at the Dojo a pleasant one, Ranma-kun," Nabiki panted, "but you've never really given me a reason to do so. I mean, you let Akane walk all over you and beat on you whenever she gets her panties in a bunch. You let Shampoo and Cologne continually lead you around by the nose at even the slightest hint of a cure for your curse or a new 'technique'. And your 'best friend', Ukyo... hmph, don't even get me started on her." She kissed him then, with even more passion than before, if that was even possible by that point, as she began to work at undoing his pants. "Face it, Ranma-kun. You're a 'dumb-jock' and stupidly proud of your ignorance, without the backbone to stand up for yourself or to keep a girl like me in my proper place. But right now, I NEED you, and by all the Kami in Heaven, I'm going to HAVE you!"

Ranma's current dilemma, as he struggled to hold the squirming Nabiki at bay, was that despite his own aroused state he still had enough presence of mind to realize the consequences of what Nabiki was intending. At the very least, there would be a loss of face and honor, for both of them, even if no one else ever learned of what took place. At worst... he didn't even want to contemplate that scenario. His desperately searching gaze alit upon the sink to one side, more specifically the cold-water tap with its promise of cold water and a change of forms. Nabiki clearly needed a release of sexual tensions, badly, but did it have to be with his male-form and the devastating consequences that could follow such an encounter? Did HE want his first sexual experience with another person to be as a girl? The answer to that second question wasn't all that appealing to him, what with the way he'd been raised and all. And yet, he'd learned by accident and hesitant, often reluctant, experimentation, just what it would take for a girl to gain release without the assistance of a man. Male or female? Whichever he chose, it wasn't likely to ease his own tensions either way.

The decision was taken out of his hands, however, when he felt his pants drop about his ankles and his boxers yanked downwards, exposing him to Nabiki's hungered gaze in all his glory. Out of time and desperate, Ranma grabbed Nabiki by her shoulders, spinning her about and pulling her back against him so that her back was against his chest and he was nestled comfortably against her squirming bottom. Then, silently praying to any Kami that might be listening, one of his hand rose to pull down the top of her dress, revealing that she was braless beneath, while his other hand delved into the forbidden territory inside the front of her panties.

Some twenty or so minutes later the two exited the bathroom, flushed and sweaty from their exertions and the heat that had built up in the enclosed space from said exertions. Nabiki still appeared to be a little drunk and unsteady on her feet as she leaned heavily against Ranma for support, but she was no longer pawing at him or rubbing herself against him in need. Yet both had decided, without discussion, that the party was definitely over for the two of them. Besides, it wouldn't be prudent to remain and be seen, what with Nabiki's panties now residing in one of Ranma's pockets, unsuitable for continued wear, and the rather prominent bulge in the front of Ranma's pants that was causing him to move a bit awkwardly as he did his best to minimize it being noticed.

It was quite a walk back to the Tendo-ke, but not far enough to justify the expense of a taxi, and while roof-hopping would have reduced the time it would have taken to get back Ranma didn't feel comfortable with the idea of doing so while carrying Nabiki in his present condition. So, they were forced to walk and, as there was still a fair amount of pedestrian traffic about, that walk was made somewhat slower due to Ranma's awkward and somewhat stiff-legged gait.

Nabiki, her head resting against his shoulder with an arm about his waist, idly traced patterns upon his chest with her free hand as they slowly walked, finding her present position remarkably soothing, even as she could feel her need for release slowly beginning to build anew. More and more often, her gaze would lower to the front of Ranma's pants, amazed at the continued presence of the sizeable bulge there without any further stimulation.

"Ranma-kun... are you sure you're okay?" she finally asked, her face flushing as she considered several means she could employ to... diminish Ranma's problem. "I mean, you helped me, but...it doesn't appear as if your... 'condition' is going to go away without some help."

Ranma looked at her, sweat upon his brow, and shook his head slightly. "No... it's okay. We need to get you back home. Once we're back at the Dojo and safe, you can sleep off whatever it was they gave you and I can... take care of it."

"But Ranma..." Nabiki almost whined, unconsciously using the most intimate form of address and pressing herself more firmly against her savior's body once more, "I want to help. You look seriously stressed and in need of release yourself." She turned to face him, forcing him to stop walking, and kissed the Saotome heir's cheek softly. Then, more brazenly considering they were in public, kissed him full on the lips. "Besides... I can feel the need building again... At this pace it'll be hours before we get home..." Looking about for any place that could offer some privacy, she grinned as her gaze fell upon a dark alley. "Come on," she said, starting to drag him towards the alley, "there's something I want to try before I lose control again. Then you can do me."

Ranma looked toward where she was dragging him and saw the alley. He'd seen couples doing what Nabiki intended in such alleys before, during his travels with his father, and knew that if they went far enough back in the alley and were quiet that they weren't likely to be seen or disturbed. With time being of utmost importance at the moment, Ranma quickened his pace, but didn't run or do anything that would draw undo attention from the few other people about as he followed Nabiki into the alley.

A substantial amount of time later, Ranma emerged from the alley with Nabiki in his arms, his stride a great deal more relaxed than it had been when he'd entered and a sated grin on his face. Nabiki was also sporting a similar grin, licking her lips clean as she made herself comfortable in Ranma's arms, with her arms about his neck and her head nestled against his shoulder. Granted, she'd never recommend that stuff to appear on any menu, but it hadn't tasted nearly as bad as some girls made it out to be. "Feel better now, Ranma?" she asked teasingly, pulling herself up to give a few quick kisses to his cheek.

"Oh yeah!" Ranma responded, and bent his head down to give her a kiss on the lips. "Thanks. I feel much better!"

"Glad to be of service, Ranma-kun!" Nabiki said cheekily, then yelped as Ranma jumped to the rooftops.

As he leaped from roof to roof towards the Tendo-ke, Ranma could feel Nabiki toying with his pigtail with one hand, while the other gently caressed the muscles of his chest. She'd seemed a bit tired after their most recent 'session', but he suspected that she'd likely need at least one more before she was exhausted enough to sleep. Whatever she'd been given kept her libido pretty active, but it was also tiring her out as it increased her metabolic rate and he resolved to keep his eye on her for a while as she slept to ensure she wasn't in any danger.

By the time they arrived back at the Tendo-ke, Nabiki was once again kissing and nipping at his neck, her hands more demanding in their caresses as she wriggled as much of her body against him as she could while being carried in his arms. Landing in the Tendo yard, Ranma moved as quickly and silently as he could to the dojo, carrying Nabiki inside before setting her down to quietly close the doors behind them. For several moments, he remained motionless in the near darkness of the dojo, lit only by a few scattered moonbeams through the upper windows, listening intently to determine if they'd been noticed.

"I need you again, Ranma," Nabiki purred softly into his ear, leaning against him and pulling his arms about her, which was when he discovered that she'd already removed her dress. "Let's try something a little different this time," she breathed and began pulling him into the moonlight in the center of the dojo.

It was well after midnight when Ranma lifted an exhausted, but sated, Nabiki into his arms once more, after haphazardly slipping Nabiki's dress back onto her, as well as yanking on his own clothes, and performing a quick clean up of the dojo. Using every bit of his stealth skills, without resorting to his father's forbidden techniques, Ranma made his way carefully into the house proper and to the bathing room, stripping the both of them again and tossing their clothes into the hamper. Working quietly, with only a few quiet protests from a nearly asleep Nabiki, Ranma used the still warm water from the furo to wet himself and Nabiki down before efficiently lathering the two of them up and scrubbing them clean. Using more water from the furo, Ranma rinsed Nabiki and himself off thoroughly and carried her into the changing room to dry her off. Then, wearing only a towel about his waist and carrying an equally towel-clad Nabiki, Ranma made the perilous trek through the house and upstairs to Nabiki's bedroom.

Laying Nabiki on her bed, he'd retrieved a set of her pajamas and dressed her in them, before easing her under the covers. But when he was about to turn away from her and make his way to his own room, Nabiki managed to snag his hand and gently, but insistently, pulled him onto the bed with her. "Stay with me," she softly whispered drowsily, "just for a little while. Please?"

Ranma knew what he'd be risking as tired as he was himself, but there had been something in her tone, that just wouldn't allow him to refuse and he soon found himself under the covers and snuggled up against Nabiki's back, his arms wrapped protectively about her. Even so, he'd had no intentions of remaining in Nabiki's bed for very long, fully intending to seek out his own futon as soon as he was certain that Nabiki was fully asleep.

End Flashback

Ranma shook his head, his thoughts returning to the present, as Kasumi passed him a cup of tea. Taking a few sips, Ranma recalled that the only thing that had prevented the discovery of his and Nabiki's 'indiscretions' the next morning had been Nabiki's ability to sleep through her alarm clock's blaring racket the first couple of times it sounded, whereas he himself had practically shot to the ceiling at the utterly unexpected, loud and unfamiliar noise. Also, had been the fact that his father had still been so inebriated from all the alcohol he'd consumed with Mr. Tendo the prior evening that Ranma could have performed surgery on the loudly snoring panda and he'd have never woken up.

Looking towards the furo, Ranma sighed at what he knew was likely to occur at one time or another later on that day. Almost every time Nabiki had come down from her room in the morning in that state, she had invariably been more grabby throughout the day. Fortunately, it was usually when they were alone or in situations where no one could see what she was doing with her hands. And, surprisingly, Ranma had actually found it to be an effective training method for developing the 'Poker Face Technique'. After all, there were few things that could motivate an individual more effectively than the prospect of an extremely painful and gruesome death, which was exactly what Ranma could expect to receive on those occasions where he'd found himself sitting or standing across from one of his fiancées, while Nabiki placed herself close beside him and had her hand down the back of his pants fondling and pinching his butt. Needless to say, he was feeling pretty confident that he nearly had the 'Poker Face Technique' down pat, as he was still alive.

----

Nabiki leaned back in the furo and willed herself to relax. She had a few minutes yet before she'd need to get out and start getting ready to go to the University for her Placement Tests. Hearing the door to the changing room open, she opened her eyes to see her elder sister stepping into the bathing room, a concerned expression on her face.

"Nabiki, is everything alright?" Kasumi asked.

Nabiki's hands rose out of the water to rub at her temples. "It was the dream again," she stated. Shortly after Nabiki realized that she was having a recurring dream, with few variations, she had talked with Kasumi about them. "I just don't understand it, Kasumi. I know Ranma-kun was with me at the party, I know someone slipped something into my drink, and I know Ranma got me home safely later that night..."

"But?" Kasumi prompted, having knelt down beside the furo, to better talk with her sister. Several times a week after the party, Kasumi would notice her younger sister's distracted state of attention, later realizing that it was due to the dreams she was experiencing once Nabiki confided in her. Highly erotic dreams featuring Ranma. Her latest one, before this, had featured them in the dojo. Kasumi blushed at the details Nabiki had given concerning that dream and wondered if Ranma really could please a woman as well as Nabiki had described.

"But why am I having SEX dreams featuring Ranma 'Mr. Clueless Eunuch' Saotome?" Nabiki growled in frustration. Nabiki knew that Ranma was incapable of doing anything that was of an overtly sexual nature, as well as extremely naive about girls in general and highly embarrassed at any displays of affection. Heck, he hadn't even been able to kiss Akane during that play. And yet, her dreams were far too vivid and detailed to simply be the work of her imagination alone. Something had definitely happened the night of the party that had caused her subconscious to fixate on Ranma, but she didn't have a clue as to how to broach the topic with him without utterly embarrassing herself if, in fact, nothing had happened between them. Over the weeks following the party, she had tried to elicit some kind of sexual response out of him through lewd comments and blatant fondling of his body, even when he was girl. And while she had yet to get the kind of response she was looking for, it had often proven to be an entertaining endeavor in its own way.

"Which particular dream was it this time, Imooto?" Kasumi asked, having been forming her own theories as to what may have occurred the night of the party. And she possessed one incriminating piece of evidence that she'd found the day after the party that Nabiki wasn't aware of yet.

Nabiki groaned in embarrassment and sank a little deeper into the furo, "The alley."

Kasumi's face turned a brighter shade of red as she recalled the particulars of that dream. She'd always known that Nabiki had a bit of an 'oral' fixation, but she still had difficulty believing that Nabiki would do such a thing, not once but twice according to her dream. Even so, Kasumi had noticed a pattern to Nabiki's dreams. In those dreams that were incredibly vivid and detailed, no actual copulation ever occurred, in spite of Nabiki's blatant willingness to engage in such an action with him, Ranma had always moved their activities to something other than actual intercourse. Even Nabiki agreed that those dreams where she DID have full-out intercourse with Ranma had been vague and disjointed, like any other dream albeit of a sexual nature.

"Nabiki..." Kasumi hesitantly began, having decided to make her suspicions known, if only to spur her younger sister into talking to Ranma about it, "this may sound silly, but do you remember what kind of... well, panties you wore to the party?"

"Black silk, ribbon ties, and expensive," Nabiki said in response. "I bought them the day of the party specifically to go with the dress I wore, but I haven't seen them since that night. I'm pretty sure Happosai's got them. Why?"

Kasumi reached beneath her customary apron and when her hand emerged again there was small bundle of black silk in the palm of her hand. "These?" she asked.

"Hey! That's them! Where'd you find them, Kasumi?" Nabiki asked, delighted that she had her property back. Aside from being expensive, those panties had been some of the most comfortable she'd ever worn.

"In Ranma-kun's pants' pocket the morning after the party," Kasumi stated without inflection.

----

Nabiki sat on the edge of her bed contemplating the bit of silk in her hand; an extremely scanty black panty that seemed to indicate that there was much more to her frequent erotic dreams than merely an overactive imagination. Her mind struggled to wrap around the concept that Ranma might actually possess far more sexual knowledge than she or anyone else had ever given him credit for, despite his seeming utter naiveté on the subject in the past. Just how much did he REALLY know? And could she convince him to demonstrate that knowledge with her? Quite frankly, after weeks of highly erotic dreams and nervously clandestine self-stimulation... she wanted more. She NEEDED more! As no matter what she tried, she hadn't been able to achieve results that even seemed to come close to what her dreams indicated Ranma was capable of eliciting in her.

After her talk with Kasumi, and the revelation that Ranma had possessed her panties after the party, Nabiki had become determined to confront him on the matter and find out just what DID happen that night. It hadn't been easy, going through the motions of the day. But she hadn't missed the way Ranma would flinch shamefully and nervously look about for somewhere to run whenever she'd turned her frosty gaze in his direction. Only after he'd run off would her own mind turn on her, questioning the possibility that she'd somehow forced him into doing what he did. No, he could have done something else, performed some obscure martial arts technique or something and she'd have been fine, right? Right?

She jolted upright, stiffly, as a knock came at her door. It took her a moment to recall that she'd instructed Ranma to come see her... to discuss a matter of importance. "Come in, Saotome."

Ranma stepped into the middle sister's room, shutting the door behind him before turning to face her. "Okay, Nabiki, what's this matter of 'importance' you wanted to talk about?" he asked. "Akane's gone with Kasumi to the market and I think she's intending to..." Ranma stopped talking as Nabiki held up the panties by one ribbon allowing him to see them.

"Look familiar, Saotome?" Nabiki asked snidely.

"They're not mine!" Ranma immediately stated with a frown. Although, they DID look familiar for some reason.

"They happen to be mine. What I want to know from you is..." Nabiki growled, getting to her feet and walking over to glare right into his eyes. "What were they doing in YOUR pants' pocket after the party? What happened after I was drugged, Saotome?"

Ranma just stared at her quizzically for a moment, but then dawning realization came and his eyes widened. Uh-oh. Apparently, she didn't remember what had happened after she was drugged and he now recalled why THOSE panties looked so familiar... and just HOW they'd ended up in his pants' pocket. This was bad, REALLY bad. No wonder she was pissed. She probably thought he'd... "N-Nabiki... it isn't w-what you th-think... I d-didn't..."

"And what isn't it, Saotome?" Nabiki snarled, shoving him away from the door, towards her bed, and keeping herself between him and the window. No way was she going to leave him an escape route. "Are you going to tell me that you DIDN'T have your way with me? Huh? Is that what you're going to say? That you took my panties for some reason OTHER than as proof to the other guys that YOU managed to FUCK the 'Ice Queen'? HUH?"

"THAT AIN'T WHAT HAPPENED!" Ranma vehemently stated, before he was shoved back onto Nabiki's bed, only to have her jump on top of him, brandishing her panties in his face and snarling.

"Then tell me what DID happen, Saotome!" Nabiki snarled. "Or I'm going to kick you so hard in the balls that you'll be a girl WITHOUT the benefit of cold water!"

"I d-d-didn't have s-sex with you and... and... if y-you hadn't jumped me in the b-bathroom..."

"I WHAT!" Nabiki screeched and slapped him hard. "You have the utter gall to blame this on ME!"

"I'm not blaming you, Nabiki," Ranma said, grabbing her wrists so she didn't slap him again. "It was the drugs. Whatever it was they gave you at the party was some kind of powerful aphrodisiac or something. You couldn't help herself. And I never 'fucked' you! The Kami know I wanted to, but I DIDN'T!"

"Then what the hell DID you do!" Nabiki snarled. "I want to know everything, Saotome. I want every last detail from the time we arrived at the party to when I awoke the next morning. Everything! Don't you dare leave anything out!"

And so, with a heavy sigh, Ranma told her... everything... in detail.

Nabiki listened as Ranma talked, her face flushing crimson throughout most of it, especially the highly detailed account of his first ever blowjob, courtesy of yours truly, and the prolonged '69' in the dojo that had culminated their sexual adventures that night. And as he'd talked, she'd remembered, her dreams no longer figments of her imagination but actual memories that she could now recall at will. She could even recall his 'taste' now, something that had actually been missing from her dreams.

"So, why didn't you?" she asked, as he finally finished, still sitting atop him... and more than a little aroused at the moment. And it hadn't escaped her notice that Ranma was in a similar condition, as it was quite noticeable pressing against her as it was. "Take me, that is? It probably would have ended things quicker."

"I couldn't allow that, no matter how much you SEEMED to want it," he said, having long since released her wrists. Now, his hands rested comfortably upon her shapely thighs. "Not only were you not in control of your actions, but I couldn't risk getting you pregnant. It would have been dishonorable of me to use you in such a fashion and then NOT marry you. And being forced into marrying me, would put your own life in danger, not to mention our unborn child, as well as made a complete wreck of your plans to eventually rule the world."

"Hey! I do not want to rule the world!" Nabiki snapped, batting a fist against his chest playfully. "I just want to own a hefty chunk of it, is all. And just because a couple has sex is no guarantee that the girl will become pregnant. If that was all it took, humanity would have stripped the entire planet bare millennia ago."

"Still, the possibility was there," Ranma insisted.

"Humph," Nabiki snorted. "Not so much as you might think, Saotome." Then, at his questioning look, she added, "If you breathe a word of this to anyone, I'll make your life so far seem like a pleasure cruise, understand?"

"I may seem a little slow and dense at times, Nabs," Ranma said with an exasperated sigh, "but there is no way I'm even going to hint at ANY of this to anyone. I'm not suicidal... At least, not yet."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nabiki asked.

"Another topic, for another time," he responded. "You were going to tell me something?"

"Well..." Nabiki began, pausing in thought as if still uncertain as to whether or not to tell him. The feel of his aroused member pressing against her, however, made the decision easier. "The fact of the matter is... I've been taking birth control pills since I was about sixteen. Just in case 'Mr. Right' came along." Then, as she slightly ground herself against him, she added, "Or 'Mr. You'll-Do-For-Now'. Unlike the rest of my family, I don't believe that just because a couple has sex means they HAVE to get married. Nor do I believe that the bride should arrive at her wedding bed completely inexperienced, while the groom is supposed to be well experienced. I hate double standards like that and I've heard too many horror stories about disastrous and disappointing wedding nights.

"No," she continued, beginning to grind her crotch against him with more force, "if the man I eventually am to marry wants a 'virgin' bride... then I don't want him. That kind of thinking, in the modern world, is little more than a means of covering up his own ineptness as a lover. In the past, it served an honest and reasonable purpose, ensuring that any offspring were, in fact, the husband's, but with modern birth control methods and DNA testing... Y'know, Saotome, I've been having dreams of what occurred the night of the party for weeks now and... they've left me more than a little frustrated. I think you owe me an honest 'ride' on the 'Wild Horse'. The works, this time."

Ranma had calmly listened to Nabiki as she talked, and much of what she'd said made sense. It WAS a double standard for the man to go out and have sexual encounters with numerous women, while the woman was expected to remain chaste until her wedding night. It was also just that standard his own mother was advocating, for him to chase and bed a lot of women, while the girls either had to abstain or share her son's bed only... marriage or not. And his mother likely fully expected that type of behavior to continue AFTER he was married, as well. And yet, something told him that if she learned that her own husband, Genma, had not been the least bit celibate on their training trip, and he most definitely had not been celibate... the Saotome home would quickly have a panda-fur throw rug.

It was at this point that Nabiki's final comments, as well as the way she was rubbing herself against him, fully registered on Ranma's brain, causing him to tense up. Before he could even start to extricate himself from beneath her, however, Nabiki lunged forward atop him and engaged him in an all-out battle of tongue wrestling. Despite himself, Ranma found himself responding, and after his initial slow start, his natural instinctive need to meet a physical challenge rose to the forefront and he quickly began to dominate the match. Without conscious thought, his hands slid back from where they'd been resting on her thighs to begin fondling and kneading Nabiki's butt, eliciting appreciative moans from her.

"Mmmm... Good horsie," Nabiki all but purred into his ear after breaking off their lip-lock for some much needed air, before once again re-engaging him in battle.

Ranma didn't respond, verbally, to her comment at first, having used the opportunity to replenish his own oxygen supply. But as they resumed kissing, first one hand slid up her back, then the other, to grip her by her shoulders and gently push her away. "Na... Nabiki," he panted once they'd separated, "we can't... not here... and I don't think we should..."

"No one else is in the house and they know better than to disturb me while I'm studying, even if they were," Nabiki panted back, her hands rubbing over his chest. "I'm not going to get pregnant. And I'm not going to force you into marrying me afterwards. So what's the harm?"

"Ryouga. Shampoo. Happosai. Cologne. Kodachi," Ranma rattled off. "And can you really guarantee that your family or my Pop won't bust in if they hear odd noises?"

"Damn it!" Nabiki snapped, jumping off him and pacing her room. "You're right! Shit! Except for Ryouga, who'd likely walk out of my closet at the MOST inopportune time, none of those others would even think twice of bursting into my room uninvited. But Ranma... I NEED you! Now! Today! I can't stand it anymore! And it's beginning to effect my concentration. I NEED SEX! And I NEED it to be with YOU!"

"Alright, alright..." Ranma said, getting up and pulling her into a hug, stroking his hands up and down her back. Actually agreeing to have 'sex', with Nabiki of all people, was a monumental decision for him to make. Still, she was likely the only girl in Nerima that he COULD have sex with and not wake the next morning in front of a priest. And despite the appearance he fostered before others, he had NOT been unaffected by the amorous attentions of his fiancées and was more than a little 'sexually frustrated' himself. "Just... not here... and not in Nerima. The risk is too great of our being caught. And... are you sure there's no one else you can... well... How about Ku-ERK!" Ranma's question was cut off as the hand that Nabiki had been fondling his crotch with suddenly clamped down, hard.

"If you even THINK of suggesting I go to Kuno..." Nabiki growled warningly.

"Nevercrossedmymind," Ranma quickly squeaked out and sighed in relief as Nabiki let up the pressure, returning to her former fondling.

"Kuno is a 'mark', Ranma," Nabiki explained. "Nothing more. We were friends once, a long time ago, but he... No, there's no one else I can go to. No one else I'm willing to be so... intimate with. No one I can trust enough."

"Then... how do we do this?"

Thinking over the problem, Nabiki absently pushed Ranma back onto her bed and climbed into his lap, making herself comfortable. The solution wasn't as simple as just getting out of Nerima as Ranma, at least, would be followed for certain. So, they had to get out of Nerima with no one the wiser. And even if they succeeded in that endeavor, they couldn't afford to be seen together outside of Nerima, especially not seen entering a 'love hotel' together which would be their likely destination. Come to think of it, if she remembered correctly, there had been a former student at Furinkan that still owed her a substantial favor and whose parents' actually owned several 'pricey' love hotels around Tokyo.

'That still leaves the problem of getting there,' she thought, wiggling her bottom a bit. The relief for the itch she'd endured for weeks was so close... 'Ranma would probably suggest disguises,' she softly snorted, recalling the laughable attempts at disguise that Ranma had used in the past. Yet, if those disguises were done correctly... She quickly reviewed the materials she had on hand, Ranma's skills in the Art, and the black silk panties lying to one side on the bed. Slowly, a grin appeared on her face.

"You've thought of something, haven't you," Ranma said, stroking her back. Then, as her grin became an all too familiar smirk, he added, "I'm not going to like this, am I?"

"Maybe not," she responded, giving him a brief kiss, "but I will. I intend to reclaim my panties..."

"But you've already--" Ranma began, only to have Nabiki silence him with a finger to his lips.

"...in the same manner in which they were taken from me. I will remove them myself from the body of the hottest little redheaded vixen in Nerima," Nabiki finished. It took only a moment for Ranma to understand her intentions, but she was ready for it when his eyes widened in understanding and he began to open his mouth in protest. "Nope," she stated, clamping her hand over his mouth, "I don't want to hear it, Saotome. Not only do you owe me this, but also it will hardly be the first time you've worn female undergarments and, this time, it will be for a better reason than distracting the old letch. So save the macho speech for someone who'll believe it. In order to pull this off, we're going to have to be in disguise and since I mean for you to be wearing those panties, you'll have to be in your girl-form."

Nabiki climbed out of Ranma's lap and strode over to her desk, opening the file drawer. What was that guy's name? "I need to call someone and make some arrangements. You head down to the furo and clean up, quickly, and then come back here. In girl-form and without the pigtail, it's a dead giveaway."

"What for?"

"A 'true' disguise requires more than a simple change of clothes, a wig, and maybe a few props," Nabiki responded, grinning as she located the file she was searching for. "With the 'right' clothes, artistic use of a little makeup, and the proper accessories, even your own mother wouldn't recognize you without close scrutiny."

"I'm not wearin' makeup!"

"Move it, Saotome! Or I'll make certain to do you up as a common streetwalker, so that every guy that sees you will be accosting you and asking how much you charge for a 'good time'! I'm horny as hell and not in the mood to negotiate!"

Naturally, Ranma made a hasty exit from the room, fearing that Nabiki just might make good on her threat in any case if he caused her too much delay.

Just under an hour later, Nabiki exited the Tendo-ke on her way to an associate's house and carrying a thick-looking briefcase almost the size of a modest suitcase, the contents of which would have surprised many that thought they knew the middle Tendo daughter. Ranma-chan, too, made her own exit from the property, but she did so while utilizing one of the invisibility techniques she'd learned. Only when she was safely out of Nerima could Ranma-chan afford to drop the technique. Especially as she was now dressed.

----

Ranma-chan strolled down the sidewalk, as best she could in the high-heels that Nabiki had insisted she wear. Not only did the Kami-cursed things threaten to break her ankles and crush her toes with every step she took, she couldn't fight in them and they caused her backside to twitch and jiggle far more than normal, which drew all kinds of attention she most definitely did not want. Still, she was determined to have the heels mastered by the time she arrived at the designated hotel that Nabiki was to meet her at in Juuban. And while she'd never admit it openly, and only reluctantly to herself, she had to admit that Nabiki's silk panties felt great on her, much better than boxers had ever felt on her present form.

Rounding the corner of a building, Ranma-chan came to a stop as she spotted her destination... the 'Love Hotel'. Even as she looked the place over, the word 'expensive' flitting through her mind, a taxi came to a stop in front of the building and she noted a rather bishonen young man stepping out onto the sidewalk. He appeared to be of a modest height, perhaps as tall as her male-form if not a little taller, with a slender build and straight shoulder-length black hair that was pulled back into a low ponytail at the base of his neck. He was dressed rather attractively in black leather shoes, dark-brown dress slacks, and a white button-up shirt with a slender black tie pulled loose from the collar, and a well-worn old brown leather jacket that hinted at broad shoulders. She couldn't really make out the features of his face too well at this distance, but had the impression that it was a strong face with angular features and judging from the shadows upon it, he was possibly in need of a shave. Then, as the taxi pulled away after he'd paid the driver, Ranma-chan noted the sizeable briefcase sitting on the ground beside him.

'That looks like the same...' Ranma-chan thought, eyeing the briefcase and then the young man, more carefully this time. 'It couldn't be...'

"Excuse me, Miss, could you possibly tell me the way to the Unryuu farm?" an easily recognizable voice asked from behind Ranma-chan, causing her eyes to go wide and her body to stiffen. "I know it's around here somewhere."

Ryouga Hibiki had not been having a fun week... or a fun life for that matter, at least in his opinion. After stumbling into Ranma and Akane's wedding, with the subsequent loss of yet another potential cure for his curse thanks to Happosai, he'd finally made the decision to actually try to see if a relationship with Akari could work out. Not unsurprisingly, he was having a bit of trouble actually finding his way back to her home. If he didn't know any better, he'd have sworn that he'd been circling the same group of buildings for days now...

Like it or not, he was going to have to ask someone for directions. Not that he actually placed much faith in those directions being even remotely accurate, based on past experience, but at the very least, they'd get him out of the area he seemed to be trapped in. Looking around for someone to ask, he quickly noted that there were only two people in sight, some guy getting out of a taxi and a VERY shapely and attractively dressed woman. As the woman was closer and directly in front of him, Ryouga decided to ask her for directions.

As Ryouga stepped towards the woman, he couldn't help but take notice of just how shapely she was. The tube-dress hugged her body tightly, especially about her gently flaring hips and stunning backside. Her waist was narrow, without being waspish, and her exposed legs... Kami, those thighs weren't the thin sticks of a normal woman, but the well-toned rounded thighs of an athlete, with equally impressive calves. Forcing his gaze upward to her bare shoulders, he again noted the presence of more musculature than one would expect to find, but none of it was the grossly 'masculine' over-development that was so common among those women who over-indulged in weight lifting. Even the woman's slender neck appeared to be stronger than what would normally be found, and her red hair...

Ryouga blinked, pausing in his examination of the woman, as a small alarm inside his head began to peal out a warning. He'd learned to be wary of females with red hair. Ranma's girl-form had red hair, and more times than he cared to recall Ryouga had been a made a fool by Ranma's playing 'the girl'. Still, he was fairly certain that he wasn't in Nerima, nor was the woman wearing her hair in a pigtail, instead having it gathered together in a loose ponytail and draped over one shoulder... much like Kasumi habitually wore her own hair. And unless he was completely mistaken, the only undergarments the woman could possibly be wearing was a pair of panties, as the tube-dress allowed for little else and Ranma wouldn't be caught dead wearing panties... or going au natural, in such a short dress. Still, he silently prayed that the woman did not have blue eyes when he finally opened his mouth and asked for directions.

Ranma-chan was terrified... well, okay, maybe not 'terrified', but she was definitely worried and highly embarrassed. If Ryouga recognized her, and uncovered not only why she was dressed in this manner but where she was going and with whom... Not good. Not good, at all. Even as she, slowly, began to turn around to face Ryouga, she noted the bishonen young man... Nabiki?... beginning to move in their direction, thick briefcase in hand.

Ranma-chan waited for the inevitable identification and accusations to begin flying, once she was actually facing Ryouga, and took in a deep breath before releasing a resigned sigh. When nothing of the sort occurred for several moments, however, Ranma-chan looked up from Ryouga's feet and found the Lost Boy staring mesmerized, at the expansive amount of cleavage and tender young flesh the tube-dress forced her to expose. Despite herself, Ranma-chan couldn't suppress a need for another 'deep' breath, while bringing her arms together slightly, causing her breasts to appear to swell and almost burst from their confinement. She almost smirked at the widening of Ryouga's eyes and the slight trickle of blood that began to seep from his nose.

"Is this man bothering you, Anata?"

Ranma-chan jerked slightly at the sudden question and Ryouga's hands flew up to grab his nose to prevent an unsightly and embarrassing eruption. And while the tone of the voice had been a bit lower and rougher than normal, Ranma-chan was still able to recognize it as belonging to Nabiki. So she didn't respond violently when she suddenly felt arms wrap about her from behind, although she did shiver at the unexpected kiss to her neck and her eyes widened in shocked surprise at the feel of something long, thick and substantial being pressed against her bottom.

"Um... Not really... honey," Ranma-chan finally responded, pressing her butt back against Nabiki's crotch in an attempt to further identify the object poking her. 'Did she use Instant Nanniichuan? If so, she'd better re-think her plans... No way am I getting stuck with that thing...' "He was just asking for some directions, I think."

Ryouga's gaze snapped up to the woman's face. That had definitely been Ranma's voice... and she had blue eyes, although... with the makeup she was wearing, her eyes almost looked green. At a distance, even another foot or two from where he presently stood, he would have said that her eyes HAD been green. But as close he was now, there was no mistaking that they were, in fact, the sapphire blue he was all-too-familiar with.

"R-Ranma?" Ryouga stammered, his gaze once again rapidly looking her over, before taking in the presence of the guy being so intimately familiar with his rival.

Ranma-chan visibly winced, while Nabiki paused in her (his?) nibbling of the petite redhead's earlobe. With Ryouga's track record, both had silently hoped that the Lost Boy would once again be easily misled. For once, Ranma-chan did not want to get into a fight with him, for several reasons. Not only would Nabiki's dress likely be a casualty of such an encounter, but there was no way she could hope to fight without exposing everything she possessed... and, for some reason, despite Ryouga's having already seen everything she had in the past, Ranma-chan was beginning to develop a sense of 'feminine modesty'.

"I am sorry, sir, I think you may be mistaking me for someone else," Ranma-chan hesitantly said in the politest form of feminine address she could manage. Then, on impulse, she added, "My name is... Sakura. I do not know any 'Ranma'."

"Are you sure? You look just like him," Ryouga said, dubiously, once again looking the redhead up and down.

"'Him'? Are you blind, man?" Nabiki questioned, her voice taking on a slight growling tone, as if offended. Nabiki's hands rose to cup Ranma-chan's generous breasts, presenting the evidence and causing Ranma-chan to bite her lower lip to suppress a sudden moan of pleasure. "I'll have you know that my Sakura-chan is all woman! If you're looking for some 'guy' dressed in drag, I'm sure there's a gay bar or two around here somewhere."

Ryouga began to have some doubt that the redhead was actually Ranma now, despite her uncanny resemblance to his rival. He found it hard to believe that someone as arrogantly macho as Ranma would have let such a comment go unchallenged, even if he'd been trying to pass himself off as a 'real' girl. Still, there was one sure-fire method of determining the truth... if he was willing to take the risk.

The redhead, if she wasn't Ranma, was undoubtedly fit, but there should be no way for her to counter what he was about to try. If she didn't, then Ryouga would owe her his utmost apologies. If she did... Without any warning, Ryouga's fist shot towards the redhead's face as fast he could send it, concentrating solely on speed rather than any real power in the punch. And even though he was expecting it, Ryouga was both shocked and disgusted when the redhead easily tilted her head to one side avoiding the surprise attack.

"I knew it!" Ryouga stated triumphantly. "You ARE Ranma!"

"What's the big idea, P-Chan!" Ranma-chan shot back, giving up all pretense of deception now that Ryouga knew the truth of her identity. "You go around attacking any girl you meet, just because they look like me?"

"Shut up, you... PERVERT!" Ryouga yelled, pointing an accusing finger at her. "How dare you cheat on Akane, like this! Dressing up as some 'high class' prostitute and then taking MEN to your bed! I could have understood, at least a little, if you'd decided to bed Shampoo, or Ukyo, or even Kodachi, but... ANOTHER GUY! That's disgusting!" Ryouga turned his pointing finger toward the 'guy' Ranma-chan was apparently on intimate terms with and said, "I hope you know that this 'tramp' is really a guy? If you don't believe me, just splash him with some hot water! You'd look real 'cute' as a 'guy' in that outfit, Ranma!"

"And you'd look real good with some stir-fry, Ryouga," Nabiki spoke up, foregoing any attempt to disguise her voice. "Of course, for a modest fee, I can see to it that your secret remains safe for a while longer, so you can continue sneaking into Akane's bed to get your jollies as P-Chan."

"N-Na-Nabiki!" Ryouga stammered in shock taking a closer examination of the 'guy'. Yep, it was Nabiki all right. She was wearing a wig, some makeup had made her facial features less feminine and given her, at a distance, a five-o'clock shadow, and she'd apparently bound her breasts down. He also suspected that the leather jacket was padded in some way to give the impression of broader shoulders than she actually possessed and the remainder of her clothing was loose enough to conceal her normally flaunted curves. He began to step back, preparatory to vacating the area, which was always a good idea whenever Nabiki started talking about 'secrets' and 'fees', when Ranma-chan's dainty hand latched onto the shoulder-strap of his backpack stopping him.

"Ryouga, I really need you to keep this a secret. No one can find out about this," Ranma-chan said as calmly as she could.

"And why shouldn't I tell anyone?" Ryouga snapped in return. "You've been stringing Akane along ever since Shampoo showed up and NOW you're going after her sister? How many of the other girls have you slept with already?" Then, looking her up and down again, he added, "How many guys? The Kami know you've come on to me often enough."

"Listen, Bacon Breath, you saw what happened at the wedding," Ranma-chan growled, flaring her battle aura slightly. "It was a disaster from the start. I didn't ask Akane to marry me, our father's arranged things, convinced Akane to go through with it and were going to hold that cask of Nanniichuan for ransom as a last ditch effort to force me to cooperate. I didn't even know it was in the house until Akane threatened that her father wouldn't allow me to have it if I DIDN'T marry her. And THAT only after I refused to say that I loved her. Of course, she wasn't about to say that she loved me, because she DOESN'T! She was just going through with the wedding to beat out the other girls after me! And the other girls didn't even ask if I WANTED to marry Akane, before deciding to 'rescue' me. I won't even talk about the 'guys' being there, as you know their reasons for ruining such a wedding as well as I do. What it boils down to is NO ONE gave a shit about what I wanted, or how I felt. So if I want to join Nabiki inside a love hotel, it's nobody else's business! It sure as HELL isn't yours! Especially when YOU are pursuing another man's fiancée!"

"I can't believe you, Ranma. You've hurt Akane too many times with all your lies and name-calling, it's a wonder she cares for you at al--" Ryouga's diatribe was interrupted by the impact of a dainty fist slamming into his jaw, sending him sprawling along the sidewalk and up against the side of a building. Looking up, Ryouga saw Ranma-chan stomping towards him with an expression that could only be described as furious and with her battle aura swirling about her.

"I'VE hurt Akane? I'VE lied to Akane!" Ranma-chan snarled. "I've NEVER lied to that uncute tomboy! And SHE started the name-calling, not me! YOU, on the other hand, have lied to her practically from day one of meeting her, P-CHAN! And she's going to be really HURT when she learns the truth! And what about me, huh? What about when I'VE been hurt by Akane? ESPECIALLY when I've been hurt by her, because I was protecting YOUR secret! I don't see you being so quick to defend me from that violent maniac!"

"I wouldn't HAVE a secret from Akane, if you hadn't pushed me into that spring!" Ryouga snarled back. "If you suffer because of it, it's JUSTICE!"

"Why you hypocritical--"

"Ranma," Nabiki quietly spoke up, placing a hand upon the furious redhead's shoulder, "let me handle him. Okay?"

"Fine!" Ranma-chan spat after a moment. "Just don't 'handle' him too much! He gets too much of that as it is from Akane. And make it quick, I want to get rid of all this stress!"

"You and me, both... 'Sakura'-chan," Nabiki said, smirking lecherously as she admired the sway and jiggle of Ranma-chan's backside as she strode off a short distance. Then, the smirk was replaced with a banker's grin as she turned to look at the Lost Boy, who cringed back against the side of the building in response. "Now then, Ryouga-kun... I have a little proposition for you. The terms of which, however, are not negotiable, so pay attention." She held up a single finger as she began, "First, you will owe me an unspecified 'favor' of MY choosing, to be called in at any time." A second finger joined the first. "Second, if you tell ANYONE about the relationship Ranma and I have begun to explore, I will make certain that you become known as the Lost 'Gay' Boy, after I've convinced Akane to have P-Chan 'neutered' for his continued good health." A third finger rose to join the other two. "And finally, all fighting in or around the Tendo Dojo will cease immediately. If you want to fight Ranma, do it somewhere else, preferably by arrangement. Cause any more damage to my home and I'll take it out of 'your' wallet and 'P-Chan's' hide. Understand?"

"What? You're not going to threaten to expose my curse to your sister?" Ryouga asked. Granted, what Nabiki had already threatened to do to him if he didn't cooperate was bad enough, but... the fact that she didn't threaten to tell her sister the truth about his curse was troubling him.

"If I did that," Nabiki grinned sadistically, "then I could never convince Akane that 'P-Chan' is actually a 'sow' rather than a 'boar', now could I? There may not be any Man water presently available, but I know where to get my hands on some Girl and Pig water. Tick me off enough and I'll get that water, mix the two and... I'm sure Akane would just love to 'breed' P-Chan-ette with some big strapping hunk of a boar. Do we understand each other, Ryouga... -chan?"

Ryouga shuddered in horror and disgust, but rapidly nodded his understanding and made a mad dash away from the middle Tendo sister. In seconds, Ryouga was out of sight and likely lost in South America somewhere.

Nabiki sighed softly as she looked after the departed Lost Boy, hopeful that her threats would be sufficient to maintain his silence, before returning to Ranma-chan's side. Taking the redhead's hand into her own, Nabiki led her into the love hotel's lobby and up to the registrar's counter. Signing them in as 'Mr. & Mrs. Akira Tanaka', Nabiki accepted the room keycard from the 'very' solicitous clerk, once he'd noted the name she'd written into the registry, before leading Ranma-chan into the elevator. Once they were alone in the elevator, Nabiki pulled the smaller girl into a hug. "You going to be okay, Ranma?"

"That will depend on what's poking me in the butt," Ranma-chan responded, wiggling said piece of her anatomy against Nabiki's crotch. "You didn't use any Instant Nanniichuan, did you? Because if you did, you can forget the whole deal right now. I am NOT having sex with another guy. Even if it's really you."

"Well, judging from the way you keep wiggling you cute little behind against me," Nabiki said with a grin, as she pressed herself more forcefully against Ranma-chan's bottom, "I wouldn't say that the idea is 'completely' out of the question. At least, not at some point in the future. And I DO have a few packets of Instant Nanniichuan that I bought from Shampoo a while back, but... no, I didn't use any today."

"Then what is it?" Ranma-chan asked, continuing to wiggle herself against Nabiki. "It's too hard to be a rolled-up sock, it isn't hard enough to be a piece of wood or pipe, and it's too thick to be a roll of coins."

"You'll find out, soon enough, you little minx," Nabiki responded as the elevator chimed the arrival to their floor.

"Just how much is this costing you?" Ranma-chan asked. Everything she'd seen since stepping into the building had screamed expensive.

"Not a thing," Nabiki grinned, leading her over to their room and using the keycard to open the door, "if I make arrangements in advance. As long as we don't abuse it, and pay for anything we order up from room service, we can come here or to a few other love hotels in the Tokyo area, free of charge."

Nabiki was startled as Ranma-chan pushed her up against the door once they were inside the room, which had been decorated in a futuristic theme, and engaged her in a deeply passionate kiss. She was a little surprised that Ranma would actually initiate things... until she felt small hands trying to gain entry into her slacks.

"Oh, no you don't," Nabiki gasped, breaking off the kiss and spinning Ranma-chan around, only to pull her back against herself and grind the bulge in her slacks against her butt. "You can't have that until I get my panties back."

"Aw, Nabiki," Ranma-chan whined. "I wanna know what it is."

"Patience, my dear, patience," Nabiki said, allowing her hands to begin roaming the little redhead's body. "Be a good little girl and maybe I'll use it on you later."

"I'm not a 'good little girl'," Ranma-chan snorted, then moaned as Nabiki slowly brushed her fingers over her hardening nipples as she pulled down the top of her dress.

"Oh, really?" Nabiki asked an unmistakably mischievous tone to her voice. "Then what have we here?" she asked, slipping a slender hand beneath the hem of Ranma-chan's dress and cupping her mound, rubbing her hand over it and causing Ranma-chan to squirm.

It wasn't long before Ranma-chan was divested of the dress entirely, leaving her dressed only in Nabiki's silk panties, and panting in blatant arousal as Nabiki played her body like a master musician with a finely crafted instrument. She squirmed and moaned and panted, unashamedly grinding her ass back against the hard object in Nabiki's slacks, just as Nabiki had done to him the night of the party, and silently wondered if maybe she'd been a little too hasty in 'completely' ruling out Nabiki's use of Instant Nanniichuan. It was, at least, something to give further thought toward. Then Nabiki's hand actually slipped inside her panties and all coherent thought vanished from her mind for a while.

"Hmm..." Nabiki said several minutes later, having removed her hand from a panting and flushed Ranma-chan's well-soaked crotch, only to take an experimental lick of the honey now coating her hand. "You're sweeter in this form... not as bitter," she said, proceeding to lick her hand clean.

"Now... Now what?" Ranma-chan panted, getting her breath back. She had to admit, Nabiki had GOOD hands, and she'd certainly never gotten results that quickly on her own. She was a bit surprised when Nabiki turned her about to face her and gently urged her down to her knees. "What?"

"You wanted to know what was in my pants, so... time to find out!"

With more than a little trepidation, Ranma-chan's small hands rose to begin undoing Nabiki's slacks. She didn't know what she would find underneath and, damn her female-body's horniness; she wasn't as certain of what she would or wouldn't do as she'd originally been. A clearly audible gulp was heard in the room when Nabiki's slacks dropped to the floor, revealing the boys' briefs that had been concealed beneath. As well as the long, thick bulge contained therein, complete with two rounder bulges below. Even with the building fear within her, one part of Ranma-chan's mind couldn't help but take note of the fact that her male-form was larger, in both length and girth. Of course, that was small consolation to the rest of her mind gibbering about how large it looked.

"Go on," Nabiki gently urged, although there was a decidedly mischievous quality to her tone, "finish it. It won't bite." Then, when Ranma-chan slowly reached up to do so, she added, "Much."

"Not funny," Ranma-chan growled, scowling up at her.

"Remember that, when it's my turn," Nabiki said seriously.

Sighing in acknowledgement, Ranma-chan reached up and slowly peeled the elastic of Nabiki's briefs down a bit, just enough to expose the very tip of... 'What the...' Ranma-chan thought in surprise and quickly yanked the boys' briefs down; exposing what Nabiki had kept hidden. "Blue?" she asked quizzically, looking over the object in question, which turned out to be a dark-blue, see-through, eight-inch vinyl dildo, complete with simulated testicles, although those were opaque and didn't look to be made of the same material as the rest. And both were attached to Nabiki's groin by some kind of elastic harness arrangement.

"Would you believe I found this get-up in 'Kasumi's' room?" Nabiki asked incredulously, reaching down to stroke the strap-on dildo as if it were the real thing. "And get a load of this 'bonus feature," she said, lowering her hand down to the faux-scrotum and giving it a sudden, hard, squeeze.

Ranma-chan shrieked and ducked out of the way, as some kind of liquid spurted from the end of the dildo, which nearly sent Nabiki into hysterical laughter.

"There is NO WAY you're using THAT on me!" Ranma-chan stated firmly, glaring as Nabiki collapsed to the floor laughing. "Uh-uh! Ain't happenin'! You got that!"

"Okay, okay, I wasn't planning on using it tonight anyway," Nabiki said, regaining control of her laughter. "Another time, though..." Nabiki was a little surprised when Ranma-chan didn't respond with an immediate denial of it EVER being a possibility. "Tonight, however, I'm the one with an 'itch' that needs scratching. So bring out the stud horse, already!"

Before Ranma-chan could walk towards the bathroom, however, Nabiki reached out and quickly 'reclaimed' her panties, giving Ranma-chan a playful swat to her bare bottom to send her on her way.

"I'll remember that," Ranma-chan called back over her shoulder as she entered the bathroom, rubbing at her offended butt cheek.

"I'm sure you will," Nabiki responded and quickly began to prepare herself for what was to come. While she hadn't shown it yet, she was more than a little nervous. While it was true that she no longer had a hymen to worry about causing her any undue pain, having lost it long ago when she still practiced the Art, the sheer size of Ranma's... endowment... would give many a young woman pause, virginal or otherwise. Oh sure, she'd heard of, and seen pictures of, larger endowments, but that was small comfort when you were about to be impaled on such an organ for the first time.

Fortunately, as it turned out, Ranma proved himself to be a remarkably gentle, controlled, and patient lover, allowing her to set the pace and tone of their first attempt at actual intercourse. Later, they would trade off the dominant position, as both grew more accustomed to and trusting of the other. Nabiki's last thought before exhaustion dragged her into a deep sleep was of just how much of a foolish little girl Akane had been to continually pass up the opportunity to experience such a ride with the Wild Horse of Nerima.

----

Ranma lay staring up at the ceiling, Nabiki's sleeping nude form draped over his own, silently contemplating what they had just done. He had a better understanding of why his father had tried to minimize his knowledge of girls and anything of a sexual nature now, as well as his friend's, Hiroshi and Daisuke, almost fanatical fascination with the subjects. Despite the general lassitude he was feeling at the moment, if Nabiki wanted to do it again when she awoke... she'd find him more than willing and able to comply.

In point of fact, since shortly after awakening, Ranma was again aroused and fully erect as this newest life experience began to affect changes in the way he thought... especially in regards to girls. With a father like Genma, a man who would go out of his way to appease his own desires and not just for money or food, Ranma was, despite the facade he continually put forth, no stranger to the topic of sex, having surreptitiously witnessed his father and others engaged in such activities in many a dark alley and bedroom throughout Asia. But, for some reason, Ranma had never made the connection between sexual intercourse and intense pleasure in the way he made them now. Oh, sure, he'd masturbated, in both forms, and he'd certainly found the oral talents of Nabiki quite pleasurable the night of the party, but...

Ranma vividly recalled the physical and emotional sensations he'd experienced as he'd climaxed into Nabiki, watching as her own orgasm occurred in response, remembering the surprising, yet extremely cute, way that she'd 'squeaked' at the height of her pleasure. Something inside him wanted to witness that experience again and again. And these thoughts had led to ponderings of the other girls in his life, which had led to imaginings of having sex with them, which had resulted in his presently aroused state.

What sounds and expressions would Shampoo, Ukyo, or Akane, make at the height of ecstasy? Unintentionally, he'd even considered what it might be like to have sex with Kodachi, Kasumi, or even an adult Hinako. They were all attractive women in their own ways, despite possessing traits that Ranma found more than a little unnerving. If it weren't for those drawbacks, Ranma could easily see himself as having sex with any of them. It was those drawbacks, however, that would prevent him from ever actually doing so. With Akane it was her constant accusations of perversion at virtually any hint of sexual attraction on his part and her uncontrollable temper. Shampoo would entail marriage and life in her village as a second-class citizen. Ukyo, too, would insist on an immediate marriage and life as a waitress most likely. Kodachi would mean dealing with her insanity, her laugh and the rest of her family. Kasumi... that almost felt wrong somehow, almost incestuous, but she was most definitely an attractive woman. And Hinako-sensei? Like Kodachi, that was a purely physical attraction.

Thinking of 'drawbacks', Ranma contemplated what those might be with Nabiki as he softly stroked her bare back. There certainly had been times when she'd been a royal pain in the ass with her comments and schemes. His hand paused in its stroking of her back to slide down to her bottom and softly caress it. Maybe he could return the favor later on, in a more literal fashion, as he recalled some of the more ecchi comments his friends had occasionally mentioned when discussing various types of sexual activities. He certainly didn't foresee Nabiki as stopping her teasing or ensuring that his wallet remained virtually empty just because they'd had sex. In fact, he didn't foresee Nabiki's behavior towards him as changing in any dramatic way at all...unless she DID become pregnant, in which case all bets were off.

Still, would it be all that bad?

Without question, Nabiki was just as physically attractive as any of the other girls in his life. And she was strong in those areas where he, admittedly, was lacking, namely in how to deal with other people, general knowledge and finance. Money had never really been a major concern for him, considering that he'd so rarely had any, but he wasn't ignorant of the fact that it would be important in plans for the future, especially if he ever found himself in a 'family way'. No, he concluded, it wouldn't be so bad if he ended up having to marry Nabiki if she were to become pregnant... but at the moment at least, it wasn't something he was about to actively seek. In truth, he didn't want to marry anyone for the foreseeable future.

"Mmm..." Nabiki moaned, rousing from her slumber and wriggling about atop him to make herself more comfortable before lifting her head from his chest to gaze sleepily down at him. "As tempting as it may be, Horsie," she murmured, leaning down to kiss the tip of his nose, "that particular area is off limits until further notice." At his puzzled look, Nabiki clenched her buttocks, thereby trapping his fingers, which had been teasing her rosebud.

"Sorry..." Ranma muttered, blushing, as he really hadn't paid attention to what he'd been doing.

"Don't be," she responded, this time kissing him on the lips. "It feels pleasant enough, and I don't mind you teasing me back there, but... it's a 'no entry' zone for now. I'm just not ready to try something like that yet."

"Gotcha," he said, returning to fondling her butt with both hands once she relaxed. "So... what now? Do we get dressed and return to the Dojo?"

"Not yet," she said, laying her head back down upon his chest and scissoring her legs closed, trapping his erection between her supple thighs. "And I'm not finished 'riding' for the night, either. We have lots of time yet, and I've left instructions for a wake-up call in the morning, so we'll have plenty of time to get you back and ready for school. At the moment, however, I'm still feeling a little tired, so... if you don't mind waiting a little bit..."

Ranma didn't respond other than to continue caressing her body with his hands and lifting his head up to kiss her shoulder.

"This is nicer than I would have expected," Nabiki softly commented a few moments later. "And you're more comfortable, too. You've definitely got a future as a bed-warmer, Saotome."

"I'm glad you approve, Your Majesty," Ranma snorted amusedly. "So, just what does the big bad Ice Queen of Nerima like?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well," Ranma began, "I just realized that I don't really know a lot about you. Sure, I know you like money and have a bit of a sweet tooth, but that's about it. And then there's the 'games' you like to play on me..."

"So, it's time for 'pillow talk', eh?" Nabiki grunted, maneuvering herself up slightly to look at him. "Okay, I'm game and I'll be just as honest as you will. Hmm, let's see... Well, other than my new favorite hobby of 'horseback' riding, I enjoy sweets, of course, and a good cup of coffee. I don't really like money so much as the process of acquiring it. Don't get me wrong, I do like money and the things one can get with it, but it's the 'challenge' of getting it that I really enjoy."

"So that's why you're always taking mine, eh?"

"Oh, please," she snorted. "You're no challenge at all. You're just like Kuno-baby in that regard, as neither of you has any real sense of what a yen is worth. You, because you've never really had it, and Kuno, because he's never been without it. Fortunately," she quickly added, already seeing him about to protest ANY comparison between him and Kuno, "that's about the only 'real' similarity the two of you share.

"Your turn," she continued. "What does the 'Wild Horse of Nerima' like? And don't even mention martial arts, that's a given."

"Hmm..." Ranma mused, considering his answer. "I like a good meal... sleeping... the occasional 'sweet'," he said with a grin. "I like seeing new places... nature... succeeding at a challenge... sex... lying here with you like this, just talking, without any pressure or expectations... peace and quiet... a good, long soak in a hot bath..."

Nabiki frowned slightly at Ranma's response. The bit about succeeding at a challenge or enjoying sex was hardly unexpected, but she hadn't expected some of the others. Oh, they weren't that unexpected, but it was the almost wistful way in which Ranma had said them that caught Nabiki's attention, as if they were almost non-existent throughout much of his life. Upon further reflection, Nabiki realized that they probably had been all but absent from much of his life. Genma was hardly the type of person to waste any money he'd managed to acquire on 'treats' for his only child, or even a 'good' meal. He was also loud and prone to attacking Ranma at all hours of the day and night, on the pretext of training. Genma 'expected' Ranma to be a great martial artist. Nodoka 'expected' her son to be a 'man among men'. Soun 'expected' Ranma to 'unite the schools'. And his fiancées 'expected' him to... well, whatever they wanted at any particular moment, they expected him to fulfill be it marriage or whatever.

"So, it's the simple pleasures in life that you enjoy," Nabiki finally said, resolving to see that Ranma actually experienced some of them, now and then. The Kami knew that he deserved them.

"I guess, to you, they'd be simple pleasures. And they are, really, but they've always been somewhat rare to me," Ranma sighed, truly enjoying the relaxing 'pillow talk' and the feel of Nabiki lying atop him, her warm presence. "Any other likes or interests?"

"Oh, lots of them," Nabiki grinned, wiggling slightly to ensure he didn't soften. She'd been serious about taking another 'ride' before calling it a night, and she was slowly recovering her energy from her first ride. "Photography, collecting manga, horseback riding -- real horses, not just you -- motorcycles, flying..."

They talked for a while longer, both discovering unexpected things about the other, some of which they actually shared, such as the desire to learn to fly, or that Ranma actually had experience working with horses. While Nabiki wanted to experience such romantic things as midnight strolls through the park or along the beach, she wouldn't be wooed by them. And that Ranma actually had more than a passing interest in ancient history and exploration... and not just martial arts related.

Of course, in between their 'pillow talk' sessions, they engaged in more physical discussions. While they didn't really get a lot of sleep that night, when they finally departed for the Tendo-ke early the following morning both had a better understanding of the other, talking and joking between themselves like good... well, friends. Neither would have been comfortable, yet, thinking of the other as a 'lover', despite what they'd just done together, but a few early risers that took notice of their apparent closeness on the subway would have easily labeled them as such.

-X-X-X-

AN: This is the first part of the prelude to Love of a Cheetah. The reason why I'm doing this as a seperate story is that it technically is. It's the three months everyone's been wondering about from the end of the wedding to the beginning of chapter 1 in Love of a Cheetah.

As usual I would like to thank Tai Khan for helping in getting some of the scenes fleshed out and worded properly where I may have not been able to.


End file.
